In Pics: 120-foot asteroid today is hurtling towards Earth, alert issued; check tech behind the tracking

A warning that an aircraft-sized asteroid is heading directly towards Earth today has been issued by NASA. This asteroid today has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Object. Also, know the awesome tech behind tracking these dangerous asteroids.

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NASA has warned that a massive asteroid is headed towards Earth. The asteroid is large enough to end all life and cause total annihilation on the planet if it makes a surface impact on Earth. Although it is safe to say that people on Earth will remain unharmed as it is expected to pass by Earth at a safe distance. (Pixabay)

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1/5 NASA has warned that a massive asteroid is headed towards Earth. The asteroid is large enough to end all life and cause total annihilation on the planet if it makes a surface impact on Earth. Although it is safe to say that people on Earth will remain unharmed as it is expected to pass by Earth at a safe distance. (Pixabay)

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The asteroid is speeding towards Earth at a mind-boggling 39024 kilometers per hour. Significantly, for humanity, Asteroid 2020 PT4 will just about miss Earth today, September 15 as it will fly away from a distance of about 7.1 million kilometers. The asteroid is nearly the size of a commercial aircraft with a width of nearly 120 feet. (Pixabay)

2/5 The asteroid is speeding towards Earth at a mind-boggling 39024 kilometers per hour. Significantly, for humanity, Asteroid 2020 PT4 will just about miss Earth today, September 15 as it will fly away from a distance of about 7.1 million kilometers. The asteroid is nearly the size of a commercial aircraft with a width of nearly 120 feet. (Pixabay)

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This asteroid does not pose any viable threat to Earth and will pass the planet safely though it was still classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid due to the close proximity of its encounter with Earth. (Pixabay)

3/5 This asteroid does not pose any viable threat to Earth and will pass the planet safely though it was still classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid due to the close proximity of its encounter with Earth. (Pixabay)

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Asteroid 2020 PT4 is part of the Apollo group of asteroids. According to the-sky.org, this asteroid takes almost 734 days to complete one orbit of the Sun, during which its farthest distance from the Sun is 355 million kilometers and nearest distance is 122 million kilometers. (Pixabay)

4/5 Asteroid 2020 PT4 is part of the Apollo group of asteroids. According to the-sky.org, this asteroid takes almost 734 days to complete one orbit of the Sun, during which its farthest distance from the Sun is 355 million kilometers and nearest distance is 122 million kilometers. (Pixabay)

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The Tech Behind Tracking Asteroids: Most of the asteroids are observed with the help of the NEOWISE Project which repurposed NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. It is a space telescope repurposed to work as a survey telescope and scan the sky for Near-Earth Objects using infrared wavelengths. (Pixabay)

5/5 The Tech Behind Tracking Asteroids: Most of the asteroids are observed with the help of the NEOWISE Project which repurposed NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. It is a space telescope repurposed to work as a survey telescope and scan the sky for Near-Earth Objects using infrared wavelengths. (Pixabay)