Aircraft-sized asteroid set for Earth approach today! NASA reveals details

An Apollo group asteroid could make its closest approach to Earth today as its orbit will bring it dangerously close to the planet. Know details such as its speed, size, and distance, as per NASA.

Asteroid 2023 PQ belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids. (Pixabay)

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART, was carried out in September last year with the space agency smashing a spacecraft into the Dimorphos asteroid to knock it off its course. It was the first-ever planetary defense test conducted to protect Earth against potential asteroid impacts in the future. Now, the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft will observe the aftermath of the collision and even capture images of the asteroid's interior when it launches in 2024.

While not expected to impact Earth, NASA has issued a warning against an asteroid that will have a close encounter with Earth today.

Asteroid 2023 PQ

An asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2023 PQ, is on its way towards Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet today, August 14. NASA revealed these shocking details after tracking the asteroid's orbit using its various satellites and space and ground-based telescopes. As per the details, Asteroid 2023 PQ is expected to make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of 756,000 kilometers. It is already travelling towards Earth at a speed of 53308 kilometers per hour, as per NASA.

This space rock belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth's. These asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

How big is it?

Despite the close approach of the asteroid, it is not a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid. In terms of size, Asteroid 2023 PQ is nearly 110 feet wide, which makes it almost as big as an aircraft. According to NASA, an asteroid would have to be at least 96 kilometers wide to end all life on Earth. However, the asteroid is still big enough to cause some degree of damage, especially if it crashed in populated areas.

Space rock hits woman in France

On July 6, a meteor crashed and hit a woman who was sipping coffee on her terrace! According to a report by the local French newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, a woman sitting on her terrace in the village of Alsace in Eastern France was struck by a meteor that bounced off the roof and hit her chest.

Later, she got the rock examined by a geologist named Dr. Thierry Rebmann, who confirmed that it was indeed a meteorite from outer space!