Asteroid 2022 UC22 as large as 630 feet (the size of a building) is rushing towards Earth at an unimaginable speed, NASA said. Know all about this asteroid.
Space is filled with a number of near-Earth objects (NEOs) such as asteroids and comets. These objects can be dangerous to the Earth, if they are large and collide with the planet. However, scientists and researchers keep an eye on these asteroids and comets and monitor their movements to see if they are on their way to collide with planet Earth. According to the latest update shared by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), an asteroid named 2022 UC22 is moving at high speed and will reach Earth tomorrow, Monday, November 7th. Are asteroids dangerous? Here’s all you need to know.
Asteroid 2022 UC22 is massive at 192 meters or 630 feet (the size of a building) and is moving at a whopping 17.38 km/s or 61200 km/h. Fortunately, according to NASA, the asteroid will pass by our planet and there is no risk or danger to worry about at this time. According to JPL, the nearest asteroid The earth approach would be only close to 4,350,000 miles.
Why follow up? small planet
Not every asteroid heading towards Earth is dangerous. However, it also does not reduce the risk of an asteroid hitting the planet or causing some other harm. Therefore, scientists and researchers are always monitoring every object heading towards Earth and studying it to know if it can collide with the planet or pass harmlessly after humming the planet. at close distances.
How NASA Researched and Tracked small planet
Surveys conducted by ground-based telescopes supported by NASA – including Pans-STARRS1 in Maui, Hawaii, as well as the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona – have identified thousands of nearby objects The earth. And a space telescope called NEOWISE has identified hundreds of others while scanning the sky at near-infrared light wavelengths from its polar orbit around Earth. Many ground-based telescopes make follow-up observations to further aid in orbiting calculations and study the physical properties of objects.
What is an asteroid?
Asteroids are small, rocky objects left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. They orbit the sun and reside mainly in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, also known as the asteroid belt. They are made of different rocks, and therefore no two asteroids are alike. They also fall under the category of near-Earth objects (NEOs).
