In Pics: Asteroid as big as house speeding towards Earth today! NASA clocks 44568 kmph speed

NASA has issued a warning that an asteroid which is nearly as big as a house is heading directly towards Earth today. This asteroid has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Object by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. Will it impact the planet?

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Asteroids have been responsible for some of the biggest events in history. From the Chelyabinsk disaster that claimed many lives to the meteor which caused the extinction of dinosaurs millions of years ago, whenever meteors have crashed on Earth, they have impacted lives. (Pixabay)

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1/6 Asteroids have been responsible for some of the biggest events in history. From the Chelyabinsk disaster that claimed many lives to the meteor which caused the extinction of dinosaurs millions of years ago, whenever meteors have crashed on Earth, they have impacted lives. (Pixabay)

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Planetary Defense Coordination Office is responsible for monitoring the skies and keeping a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). If any NEO comes within 8 million kilometers of Earth, the organization red flags the NEO and issues an alert. (NASA)

2/6 Planetary Defense Coordination Office is responsible for monitoring the skies and keeping a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). If any NEO comes within 8 million kilometers of Earth, the organization red flags the NEO and issues an alert. (NASA)

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Now, NASA has red-flagged an asteroid, named Asteroid 2022 SO11, which is dangerously heading for Earth today, October 4. NASA has warned that Asteroid 2022 SO11 is nearly 46 feet wide, which is nearly the size of a house. (Pixabay)

3/6 Now, NASA has red-flagged an asteroid, named Asteroid 2022 SO11, which is dangerously heading for Earth today, October 4. NASA has warned that Asteroid 2022 SO11 is nearly 46 feet wide, which is nearly the size of a house. (Pixabay)

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at Asteroid 2022 SO11 is nearly 46 feet wide, which is nearly the size of a house. Photo caption 4: Asteroid 2022 SO11 is already on its way towards Earth travelling at a staggering speed of 44568 kilometers per hour and will just miss the planet today, October 4. The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of just 1.1 million kilometers, according to NASA. (Pixabay)

4/6 at Asteroid 2022 SO11 is nearly 46 feet wide, which is nearly the size of a house. Photo caption 4: Asteroid 2022 SO11 is already on its way towards Earth travelling at a staggering speed of 44568 kilometers per hour and will just miss the planet today, October 4. The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of just 1.1 million kilometers, according to NASA. (Pixabay)

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Tech behind asteroid tracking: NASA currently has a NEO Observations Program in place to track, and characterize at least 90 percent of the NEOs that are 140 meters or larger in size. Most of the asteroids are observed with the help of the NEOWISE Project which repurposed NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer to work as a survey telescope and scan the sky for Near-Earth Objects. (NASA)

5/6 Tech behind asteroid tracking: NASA currently has a NEO Observations Program in place to track, and characterize at least 90 percent of the NEOs that are 140 meters or larger in size. Most of the asteroids are observed with the help of the NEOWISE Project which repurposed NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer to work as a survey telescope and scan the sky for Near-Earth Objects. (NASA)

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NASA JPL also uses a variety of ground-based telescopes in the hunt for these asteroids. NASA JPL’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has also recently developed a next-generation asteroid impact monitoring system which has gone online. (NASA)

6/6 NASA JPL also uses a variety of ground-based telescopes in the hunt for these asteroids. NASA JPL’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has also recently developed a next-generation asteroid impact monitoring system which has gone online. (NASA)