160-foot asteroid rushing towards Earth today! NASA shares details

Two massive asteroids are on their way to make a close approach to Earth today. Here is what NASA reveals about their size, speed, closeness to Earth, and more.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: May 13 2023, 10:32 IST

Share Via

Fascinating NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Dancer Galaxy, Milky Way and more

Spanish Dance Galaxy — 1/5 Spanish Dancer Galaxy: On May 8th, NASA shared a mesmerizing view of the Spanish Dancer Spiral Galaxy (NGC 1566). Within the galaxy are blue star clusters and dark cosmic dust lanes which follow two prominent spiral arms. (NASA/ESA/Hubble/Detlev Odenthal)

Shadows of Earth — 2/5 Earth casts a double shadow: On May 9th, NASA shared a snapshot of the Earth with double shadows captured during a lunar eclipse. The section in the middle is called the Belt of Venus. (NASA/ Marcella Giulia Pace Sampieri)

3/5 Milky Way Galaxy visible in Egyptian Desert's skies: How does the Milky Way Galaxy get its name? Greeks said this white streak was a "river of milk". The ancient Romans called it the Via Galactica, or "road made of milk". (NASA/Amr Abdelwahab)

NASA Fomalhaut star — 4/5 Fomalhaut's debris disk: It brings a snapshot of the dusty debris disk which surrounds Fomalhaut, which is located just 25 light-years away. (NASA/ESA/JWST/Andras Gaspar/Alyssa Pagan)

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day — 5/5 Halley's Dust in the night sky: The remnants of the periodic Comet Halley's debris streams left a surreal view for all stargazers. (Petr Horalek / Institute of Physics in Opava)

Saturday, May 13 will be witnessing two gigantic asteroids rushing towards Earth at great speed. One is a 160-foot giant, while the other is 61-foot in width. Are their large sizes and speed enough to pose a threat to the planet? Asteroids, which are dubbed as near Earth objects, can sometimes be dangerous for the planet depending upon their size. However, the asteroids heading towards Earth today are not dangerous for Earth unless they change their trajectory.

Meanwhile, here are the details shared by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory regarding 160 foot and 61 foot giants nearing Earth.

Asteroid 2023 JG: Speed, distance, and more

The US space agency has informed that a gigantic 160-foot asteroid, which is approximately the size of an airplane, is rapidly approaching Earth on Saturday, May 13. Though the asteroid is humongous and will come very close to the planet, it is likely to pass by. However, it is travelling at a very rapid speed of 55008 kilometers per hour. This asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 7.11 million kilometers.

Asteroid 2023 JD1: Speed, distance, and more

This house-sized, 61-foot asteroid too is on its way to planet Earth. It is stated to come as close as 2.97 million kilometers to the planet travelling at a speed of 24012 kilometers per hour.

How NASA studies asteroids

The research organisation uses its telescopes and observatories like NEOWISE to track and study asteroids. It also uses a variety of ground based telescopes like Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) located in the Antofagasta Region of Atacama Desert in Chile for the same.

It is important for the US space agency to study and track asteroids in order to avoid any kind of danger or threat like asteroid collision with the planet.

Follow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews , also keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 13 May, 10:31 IST