Chelyabinsk asteroid-sized space rock set to make close approach to Earth today

Asteroid 2021 JA5, which is almost the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid that exploded over the Russian city in 2013, is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today. Know details of its close approach.

Asteroid 2021 JA5 belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids. (NASA JPL)

NASA, ESA and other space agencies have multiple ground and space-based observatories and telescopes for discovering and tracking asteroids. Despite this, one asteroid snuck past these advanced technological marvels! The asteroid, named Asteroid 2023 NT1, made its closest approach to Earth on July 13 when it entered Earth's 60,000-mile radius, which is 4 times closer than the Moon! It was not a small rock either, as scientists later revealed it was nearly 200 feet wide, about 4 times the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid that caused massive damage in Russia. It was at last found by the Asteroid Terrestrials-Impacts Last Alert System (ATLAS) observatory in South Africa on July 15.

However, that was an anomaly and NASA keeps plugging on, and now, with the help of its advanced tracking technology, the US space agency has discovered another asteroid that could potentially come very close to Earth.

Asteroid 2021 JA5: Details of close approach

NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has designated this space rock as Asteroid 2021 JA5. It is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today, September 6. However, this will not be the first time this asteroid has been observed approaching Earth. Its first-ever close approach took place on May 17, 2021, as it missed the planet by a distance of 2.1 million kilometers. Looking ahead, NASA predicts that no close approach in the near future is expected.

The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at about 5.1 million kilometers. Shockingly, it is already rushing toward Earth in its orbit, travelling at a speed of about 39070 kilometers per hour, which is much faster than the speed of a hypersonic ballistic missile!

Other information

Asteroid 2021 JA5 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.

In terms of size, the asteroid is almost 59 feet wide, matching the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid which injured 1400 people and damaged 7000 buildings when it exploded over the Russian city in 2013. Asteroid 2021 JA5 is comparable to a house in terms of its size.