250-foot asteroid speeding towards Earth; NASA clocks terror rock at 38102 kmph

Occasionally, asteroids collide with other celestial objects in space, including planets and moons. The impact can have devastating effect, as evidenced by the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago on the Earth. Several theories say that the asteroid strike released a significant amount of energy, triggering widespread environmental changes that ultimately led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other species. To avoid such mishaps again, NASA and other space agencies keep a constant watch on upcoming asteroid threats.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has now alerted about a colossal asteroid that is heading towards Earth and is expected to pass dangerously close. The asteroid, named 2023 GG, is estimated to be 250-foot in size. According to NASA, it will pass very near to Earth tomorrow, April 11. Whenever a Near-Earth Object (NEO) approaches within 4.6 million miles or 7.5 million kilometers of Earth, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office issues a warning. It remains to be seen if the 250-foot-wide asteroid 2023 GG will pose any threat to our planet, as per NASA's assessment.

250-foot wide asteroid terror

According to NASA's asteroid data tracking page, Asteroid 2023 GG is scheduled to pass by Earth tomorrow, April 11, at a close distance of only 0.946 million miles, travelling at a blazing speed of 38102 kmph.

The asteroid, which belongs to the Apollo group, was only recently discovered on April 5, 2023, and The-Sky.org reports that it completes one orbit around the Sun every 446 days.

How NASA keeps a track of asteroids

The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA is responsible for monitoring all known near-Earth objects to assess their potential impact risk. While there are no objects currently posing a threat to Earth, scientists continue to scan the skies for unknown asteroids. NASA is actively researching and planning for ways to prevent or minimize the impact of a potential collision if one were to be discovered.

To detect the danger, NASA has established the NEO Observations Program, which is tasked with finding, tracking, and characterizing NEOs, and identifying those that may pose a hazard to Earth. Ground-based telescopes and NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft are currently used to locate NEOs.