Asteroid alert! NASA warns of space rock speeding towards Earth TODAY

NASA predicts the close approach of Asteroid 2023 GU2 today. Know its speed, distance and trajectory, as per the space agency.

Asteroid 2023 GU2 belongs to the Amor group of asteroids. (Pixabay)

Astronomers have spotted three near-Earth asteroids (NEA) hiding in the glare of the Sun. Among these asteroids is one of the largest objects that is potentially hazardous to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years. This is a notoriously challenging region for observations because asteroid hunters must contend with the glare of the Sun. Asteroids frequently come near Earth, but they don't usually pose any danger since they pass the planet at a safe distance.

NASA has also warned that an asteroid is on its way towards Earth, and it will make its closest approach to the planet today!

Asteroid 2023 GU2 information

NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office has warned that the asteroid, named Asteroid 2023 GU2, will make its closest approach to Earth today, April 24, at a distance of 7.4 million kilometers. NASA has estimated this asteroid to be between 78 feet and 177 feet wide, making is almost as big as an airplane!

The asteroid is already travelling towards Earth, at a blistering speed of 27849 kilometers per hour. According to NASA, it belongs to the Amor group of asteroids which are Earth-approaching near-Earth asteroids with orbits exterior to Earth's but interior to Mars', named after asteroid 1221 Amor.

Protection against asteroids

To counter these asteroids which head for Earth for potential impact, NASA has already carried out the testing of its DART Mission for planetary protection. The space agency crashed a spacecraft into an oncoming asteroid to successfully divert it from its path.

Now, ESA is also gearing up to build an early warning system for dangerous asteroids. Called NEOMIR (Near-Earth Object Mission in the InfraRed), the spacecraft would orbit between the Earth and the Sun at the L1 Lagrange Point, finding space rocks that otherwise get lost in the glare of the Sun, as per the ESA.

The NEOMIR mission will act as an early warning system for asteroids 20 meters and larger that cannot be seen from the ground.