An asteroid that was previously thought to hit Earth is now considered safe. However, it will come close enough to the planet within this decade, giving scientists a chance to study it. The asteroid is named 99942 Apophis and named Asteroid 2004 MN4 by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. According to NASA, Asteroid 99942 Apophis will make an extremely close trip to Earth on April 13, 2029. On that date, this space meteorite will come as close to the Earth’s surface as 38,000 km. This is closer than many geostationary satellites orbiting the planet.
Other small planet like this is supposed to reach Earth, but it’s not as remarkable as Asteroid 99942 Apophis. However, NASA has issued a warning about its closest approach to Earth in the coming days.
Asteroid information 2019 LH5
NASA has issued a warning about a specific asteroid called Asteroid 2019 LH5, as it will be getting very close to Earth. The asteroid is currently moving at nearly 77938 kilometers per hour and is set to make its closest approach to Earth today, July 7, at a distance of nearly 5.7 million kilometers.
By studying the data revealed by NASA, we can concur that this asteroid is not a planetary destroyer. However, it is still large enough to cause potential damage on Earth, especially if it lands in a densely populated area. In terms of size, Asteroid 2019 LH5 is nearly 880 feet wide, about the size of an entire stadium! This is why it was declared a Potentially Hazardous Object by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
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This asteroid made its first close approach to Earth on February 3, 1916, and its last close approach was on February 2, 1977, at a distance of 4.2 million km. After today, asteroid 2019 LH5 is expected to come close to Earth on February 3, 2044 at a distance of 4.7 million km.
It belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, which are space rocks that pass through Earth with a larger semi-major axis than Earth. These asteroids are named after the giant asteroid 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
