1300-foot GARGANTUAN asteroid rushing towards Earth at a ferocious 103824 kmph, says NASA

    A gargantuan 1300-foot asteroid named 2009 HV58 is rushing towards Earth on Friday, at a ferocious speed. Know what NASA informs about this giant asteroid.

    By: HT TECH
    | Updated on: Dec 01 2022, 18:45 IST
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    3/5 Coronal mass ejections, also called CMEs, are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing right through the solar wind. Only when the cloud is aimed at Earth will the CME hit Earth and therefore cause impacts. (NASA)
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    4/5 High-speed solar wind streams come from areas on the sun known as coronal holes. These holes can form anywhere on the sun and usually, only when they are closer to the solar equator, do the winds they produce impact Earth. (NASA)
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    Asteroid
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    A massive asteroid 2009 HV58 is rushing at great speed towards Earth. (Pixabay)

    Every day, NASA releases a list of asteroids that are nearing Earth, their size, speed and their chances of posing a threat to humanity. These asteroids are sometimes very small while sometimes so large that they can wipe out a quarter of the world. According to the latest details, a massive 1300-foot asteroid that is the size of a stadium will be reaching very close to planet Earth tomorrow, Friday, December 2. If this enormous asteroid strikes or crashes on Earth, it could be very destructive for a huge part of the region it impacts and its effects can even be felt worldwide. But will this dangerous stadium sized asteroid collide with Earth? Here is what NASA informs about it.

    The 1300-foot asteroid named 2009 HV58 will be making its closest Earth approach tomorrow, December 2. It will come as close as 4,720,000 kilometres or 2,930,000 miles according to the information provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). And this is not all, the stadium-sized asteroid is also moving at a mind-numbing speed of 103824 kilometer per hour (28.84km/sec). Very few asteroids achieve such fearsome speed.

    NASA says that this 1300-foot asteroid is a potentially hazardous object and it will come very close to Earth, way too close, but it will pass by. The only thing that needs to be checked is, the asteroid keeps on travelling in the same trajectory. If it changes direction due to some reason like Earth's gravitational pull, it can pose a threat. This is one of the major reasons why NASA keeps a constant eye on them to ensure any such objects are quickly found and they can take quick action against it.

    Other than the 2009 HV58, another asteroid named 2022 WT6 is also nearing Earth tomorrow. Though it is not as big as the HV58. In fact, the WT6 is of a house size (65 foot). However, it will come even more frighteningly close. The closest Earth approach it will make is 1,800,000 kilometres.

    There are several Earth and Sky-based technologies like telescopes, satellites, and more deployed by NASA in space in order to help them track and keep an eye on these near-Earth potentially hazardous objects.

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    First Published Date: 01 Dec, 18:44 IST
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