390-foot wide Asteroid 2020 NC hurtling towards Earth at 27873 kmph

NASA has detected a giant 390-foot wide asteroid with the help of its telescopes and it is hurtling towards Earth. Know its speed, closest approach, and other details.

Asteroid 2020 NC is travelling at a fiery speed of 27873 km per hour towards Earth, NASA revealed. (Pixabay)

In the last couple of months, several monstrous space rocks have made very close approaches to Earth. From a 700-foot to a 1600-foot giant asteroid, all have caused concern as they are big and got very close to our planet. Thankfully, despite being potentially hazardous, all of them have safely passed the Earth. But this may not be the case every time! Therefore, NASA actively scans space to detect upcoming asteroids and the danger they pose in advance.

NASA says that with the help of optical telescopes, it can survey large regions of the sky and detect light from the Sun that is reflected by an object, depending on its size and surface brightness. However, ground-based radar can more precisely track and determine the orbits of asteroids discovered by optical telescopes. It finds physical characteristics and body dynamics when they approach millions of miles of Earth.

Now, NASA's optical telescope and radar have detected a whopping 390-foot-wide asteroid that is rushing towards Earth at fiery speed today. Here is what NASA says about this mighty giant asteroid.

Asteroid 2020 NC danger

According to NASA's asteroid data tracking page, Asteroid 2020 NC is expected to make a close approach to Earth today, July 2, at a close distance of approximately 3.3 million miles. It is currently travelling through space at a high pace of 27,873 kilometers per hour. This particular asteroid belongs to the Aten group and was initially detected on July 6, 2020. Data from The-Sky.org indicates that it completes a full orbit around the Sun in approximately 274 days.

While NASA has reassured that this asteroid does not pose a potential threat, it is still crucial to closely monitor the movements of this swiftly moving monster rock in order to prevent any tragedy.

How does NASA name an asteroid?

Asteroids are commonly identified with a nomenclature like "Asteroid 2020 NC." However, this name is a temporary designation given to an asteroid, indicating the year of its discovery followed by two letters representing its order of discovery during that year. For instance, if an asteroid is found between January 1 and January 15, it will be assigned designations like AA, AB, AC, and so on. Similarly, asteroids discovered between December 16 and December 31 receive designations such as YA, YB, YC, and so forth. However, the letter "J" is excluded from this naming series for some reason.