Asteroid danger is closer than you think! NASA says asteroid coming at 16272 kmph

A small yet potentially hazardous asteroid is hurtling towards Earth at a speed of 16272 kmph today. Know what NASA said.

An asteroid zooming towards Earth. Should you worry? (Pixabay)

Did you know, there are currently 1113527 known asteroids? One of which is rushing towards Earth today! NASA has confirmed that a potentially hazardous asteroid is all set to make its closest approach to Earth. NASA's JPL data has confirmed that the upcoming asteroid measures just 29 feet in diameter. Despite being small in size, this asteroid is dubbed as being potentially hazardous by scientists. Also, NASA's Planetary Defence Coordination Office has red-flagged Asteroid 2022 UU8, and the reason is its terrifyingly close proximity to Earth.

To know whether the upcoming asteroid poses any threat to Earth or not, NASA keeps a close eye on all the upcoming objects such as asteroids and comets. NASA's Asteroid Watch dashboard says the asteroid will approach within 4.6 million miles or 7.5 million kilometers of Earth. To be specific, the asteroid 2022 UU8 will make its terrifyingly close approach of 0.362 million miles! It is also moving at an astonishing pace - a velocity of 16272 kmph. But you should not worry!

Although NASA has red-flagged this small, yet hazardous asteroid, earthlings should not worry as it is most likely to fly by safely back into space.

Recently, NASA successfully tested its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission. In order to test planetary defence, a NASA spacecraft struck a non-hazardous asteroid called Dimorphos to determine how an asteroid strike can be averted.

Apart from this, as mentioned before, NASA constantly keeps an eye on upcoming asteroids with the help of some of the best technologies. Such as, with the use of optical and radio telescopes, NASA determines the size, shape, rotation, and physical composition of asteroids. While, for detailed characterization data of the asteroids, NASA uses radio telescopes at Deep Space Network and the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.