96-foot wide Asteroid 2022 QC to fly terrifyingly close to Earth tomorrow

NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office has red flagged an asteroid named Asteroid 2022 QC which is expected to fly past Earth at an extremely close distance. According to NASA, the asteroid will pass Earth at a distance of just 620,000 miles from Earth tomorrow, on August 20.

NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office is responsible for monitoring the skies and keeping a watch on various Near Earth Objects (NEOs). If any celestial object is at risk of Earth impact, it red flags and issues the alert. The Asteroid 2022 QC has also been red flagged by NASA. Although the asteroid is not heading for impact with Earth, it was still classified as a Potentially Hazardous Object due to the close proximity with which it will pass by Earth. Asteroids which come closer than 28 million miles from Earth’s orbit are classified as potentially hazardous asteroids, according to NASA.

The Asteroid 2022 QC will fly past Earth on August 20 at 06:41am at a distance of just 620,000 miles from Earth at a staggering speed of 63,000 kilometers per hour.

What is an asteroid?

An asteroid is a small, rocky object and when seen in a telescope, it appears as a point of light, according to NASA. Most asteroids are found in a ring between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter called the Asteroid Belt. These celestial objects are the remains of the period during which our solar system formed, over 4.6 billion years ago.

Asteroids have been responsible for some of the biggest destructive events in history. From the Chelyabinsk disaster that claimed many lives to the one which caused the extinction of dinosaurs millions of years ago, whenever asteroids have crashed on Earth, they have impacted lives. Mostly in destructive way, but they are also being held responsible nowadays for bringing water to Earth and causing the birth of life to spring here.