130-foot asteroid to come scarily close to Earth TODAY, says NASA; Should you worry?

A plane-sized 130-foot asteroid is to come extremely close to Earth today. NASA says it is hazardous for Earth. Should you worry about it? Know here.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Jan 02 2023, 18:05 IST
Asteroid in Pics: 5 space rocks set to buzz Earth closely today
Asteroid
1/5 Asteroid 2022 YY6 - A 65 feet wide asteroid that is nearly as big as a house, will fly past Earth by a very close margin today, January 2. The asteroid, named Asteroid 2022 YY6, will make its closest approach with the planet at an extremely close distance of just 814,000 kilometers. The asteroid is travelling towards the planet at a blistering speed of 72956 kilometers per hour.  (Pixabay)
Asteroid
2/5 Asteroid 2022 YP5 – Another humongous asteroid named 2022 YP5 will make its closest approach to Earth today at a distance of 2.9 million kilometers. NASA claims that the asteroid is almost the size of a house with a width of 43 feet and it is travelling at a speed of 17243 kilometers per hour towards the planet!  (Pixabay)
Asteroid
3/5 Asteroid 2022 YU3 - NASA has issued an alert against another asteroid named Asteroid 2022 YU3. This asteroid is huge with a width of 76 feet, making it nearly as big as an aircraft! It is expected to fly past Earth closely today, January 2 at a distance of 3.7 million kilometers. The asteroid is already on its way towards Earth, travelling at a staggering speed of 25682 kilometers per hour.  (Pixabay)
Asteroid
4/5 Asteroid 2022 YT3 – Another asteroid, with a size between 49 feet and 134 feet, is all set to make a close approach to Earth today. The speeding space rock, called Asteroid 2022 YT3, will pass the planet at a distance of 4.2 million kilometers. NASA has revealed that the asteroid is moving towards Earth at a staggering speed of 23181 kilometers per hour!  (Wikimedia Commons)
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5/5 Asteroid 2021 NF - The fifth and largest asteroid, with a size ranging between 98 feet and 219 feet, is named Asteroid 2021 NF and will be making its closest Earth approach today, January 2. It will come as close as 6.8 million kilometers, according to NASA JPL. The asteroid is moving at a speed of 40776 kilometers per hour towards Earth.  (Pixabay)
Asteroid
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A 130-foot asteroid is rushing towards Earth, NASA warned. (Pixabay)

Did you know, dinosaurs were in the prime of their lives during the late Cretaceous period when an asteroid drove them into extinction, says a latest study. This dinosaur-killing asteroid was between 10.6 and 80.9 km in diameter and it crashed in Chicxulub, near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico around 65 million years ago. Think about it, if a giant asteroid can end the era of dinosaurs, then what will happen if a massive asteroid hits our planet now? Scary! Right? Hence, to detect the terror of these monster rocks, NASA and other agencies keep an active eye on these rocks and inform in advance.

Five such potentially hazardous asteroids are rushing toward Earth today. The largest of them all is said to have a diameter of 130-foot, which is equal to an airplane. It is called 2021 NF, which will make the closest approach with a distance of 4.27 million miles, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) mentioned. This airplane-sized asteroid is moving at a speed of 40776 kilometers per hour (11.33km/sec), CNEOS data revealed. Will it strike Earth? Should you worry? Know what NASA says.

The danger of Asteroid 2021 NF

NASA's JPL has given the tag of potentially hazardous objects to all the space rocks that approach within 4.6 million miles of Earth and have a size larger than about 150 meters. This is what makes this asteroid a potential threat to Earth.

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NASA keeps a constant eye on the movements of the asteroids to ensure any kind of threat is quickly found.

Did you know?

Do you know that asteroids are also called planetoids? These rocky rubble revolving around the sun are too small to be called planets, hence, these can be known as planetoids or minor planets too.

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First Published Date: 02 Jan, 18:04 IST
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