Another scary Asteroid heading for Earth today! NASA issues warning

Asteroid 2022 QN5 is already heading for Earth at blistering speed and is expected to just miss the planet today, according to NASA.

By: SHAURYA TOMER
| Updated on: Sep 02 2022, 17:39 IST
Asteroid which caused dinosaur extinction crashed in this spot on Earth
Dinosaurs and asteroid
1/5 The dinosaur killing asteroid was between 10.6 and 80.9 km in diameter and crashed on Earth more than 65 million years ago. It was a blessing of sorts for humans as the asteroid terraformed the Earth and made it suitable for the emergence of humanity. (Pixabay)
Asteroids
2/5 According to France 5, the asteroid crashed in Chicxulub, near the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. (Pixabay)
Asteroid
3/5 The impact would’ve caused the formation of huge tidal waves and an impact crater almost 140KM wide. The impact would’ve caused the land material to splatter into space, changing the Earth into a nuclear winter like environment. (Pixabay)
Asteroid and Earth
4/5 Further, the impact would’ve caused massive volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. According to scientists, these apocalypse-like conditions would’ve been the major factor behind the extinction of dinosaurs. (Pixabay)
Asteroid
5/5 According to France 5, scientists have also discovered the origin of the asteroid which crashed-landed on Earth. It would’ve originated between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. And although scientists say an asteroid could again impact the Earth, it is a 250-million-year cycle and is very likely to miss the lifetimes of our future generations and by the time one does come along, humans would be technologically so advanced they would be able to deal with the problem asteroid. (Pixabay)
Asteroids
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Scared of the asteroid that is heading for Earth today? Check out what NASA has to say. (Pixabay)

In a not-so-shocking news, NASA has issued yet another asteroid alert. According to the space agency, Asteroid 2022 QN5 is already on its way towards Earth and is expected to miss the planet by a close margin today, September 2. NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office has red-flagged the Asteroid 2022 QN5 as it has become the latest Near-Earth Object (NEO) to pass Earth within 8 million kilometers. Scientists say this asteroid could cause catastrophic damage on Earth if it deviates from its orbit due to the pull of Earth's gravitational field.

Asteroids have been responsible for some of the biggest mass-destruction events in history with the recent one being the Chelyabinsk disaster when the space rock entered Earth's atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on February 15, 2013 and caused damages of nearly $33 million.

Asteroid 2022 to just miss Earth today, September 2

According to NASA, Asteroid 2022 QN5 is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today, September 2 at a distance of 936,000 kilometers. The asteroid is already heading for us at a blistering speed of 48,600 kilometers per hour. Asteroid 2022 QN5 is the fourth asteroid to pass by Earth in a span of 2 days. Just yesterday, asteroids named Asteroid 2021 CQ5, Asteroid 2022 QN5 and Asteroid 2022 QT7 flew past the planet at a close distance, alerting the various space agencies around the world.

NASA Artemis 1 Mission launch today

NASA delayed the launch of its Artemis 1 Mission on August 29, citing malfunction in one of the four RS-25 engines of NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS). Now, the space agency will make another attempt to launch the mission today from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If the launch is successful, the spacecraft will collide with its target asteroid Dimorphos on September 26 at 4:44 AM IST. The livestream for the same will begin at 3:30 AM IST. To watch it, you can go to NASA's official website, YouTube channel as well as Facebook and Twitter.

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First Published Date: 02 Sep, 11:26 IST
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