Asteroid to come closer to Earth than the Moon! NASA reveals shocking data

An Apollo group near-Earth Asteroid could make its closest approach today, at a distance closer than the Moon! Check the speed, size, and other details, as per NASA.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Jun 14 2023, 10:09 IST
5 asteroids, including 1600-foot, hurtling towards Earth at fiery pace! NASA reveals details
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1/6 NASA uses telescopes like Pans-STARRS1 in Maui, Hawaii, and Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, to detect asteroids and comets. NEOWISE, NASA's space observatory, has also identified several asteroids by scanning the skies using near-infrared light. Here are 5 of these asteroids that NASA has detected. (NASA)
Asteroid 2023 LZ
2/6 Asteroid 2023 LA – It is a 99-foot aasteroid, about airplane-sized, which will be making its closest approach on June 12. It will come as close as 410,000 miles, according to NASA. The asteroid is moving at a ferocious speed of 37614 kilometers per hour. (Pixabay)
Asteroid 2023 LZ
3/6 Asteroid 1994 XD – NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office has warned that the asteroid, named Asteroid 1994 XD, will make its closest approach to Earth on June 12, at a distance of just 1.97 million miles. The most worrying part is its size - it is a whopper at 1500 feet. (Pixabay)
Asteroid 2023 LZ
4/6 Asteroid 2023 LO-- It is a small bus-sized asteroid of 34 feet in size and it will make its closest approach to Earth on June 13 at a distance of just 1.1 million miles.  (Pixabay)
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5/6 Asteroid 2022 WN4 – The skyscrapper-sized asteroid is heading for Earth on June 13. This asteroid, with a width of 490 feet, is heading for Earth at a blistering speed of 54272 kilometers per hour. It will miss Earth by just 2.57 million kilometers. (Pixabay)
Asteroid 2023 LZ
6/6 Asteroid 2020 DB5 – This is another monster rock that will make its closest approach to Earth on June 15 at a close distance of 2.68 million miles. According to NASA, this is a colossal 1600-foot wide asteroid. NASA's CNEOS says that it is moving at a breakneck speed of 34279 kilometers per hour.  (Pixabay)
Asteroid 2023 LZ
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Asteroid 2023 LZ belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth Asteroids. (NASA)

Most asteroids can be found in the region of the solar system located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, known as the asteroid belt. However, some of these space rocks also have orbits that bring them closer to Earth. In recent years, there have been several close calls with asteroids that have passed close to our planet. However, due to the early detection and monitoring of these asteroids with the help of tech instruments, scientists have been able to determine that they pose no danger to Earth.

NASA has now revealed that a similar asteroid is all set to pass the planet and it will do so at a distance closer than the Moon!

Information about Asteroid 2023 LZ

NASA has warned that an asteroid named Asteroid 2023 LZ is rapidly moving towards Earth and is expected to make its closest approach to the planet closely today, June 14. This space rock is already on its way towards us, travelling at a staggering speed of 49054 kilometers per hour. The asteroid will pass Earth at an extremely close distance of just 317,000 kilometers.

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If you compare, the Moon is located about 382,500 kilometers from Earth. This makes the Asteroid 2023 LZ particularly special, as it will pass Earth at a distance closer than the Moon! It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth's. They are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

While this asteroid is not huge in size with a width of 59 feet, a similar-sized space rock exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in 2013 and caused damage to 8000 buildings, leaving over 1000 people injured.

NASA's Sentry II

NASA has a new impact monitoring system in place which uses an algorithm called Sentry-II to calculate the impact risk of Near-Earth Objects. NASA can track the orbital path of the asteroid using this infrared data and can even predict its orbit years into the future. As of now, nearly 28,000 near-Earth asteroids have been discovered using various tech instruments which track objects in the sky.

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First Published Date: 14 Jun, 10:07 IST
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