Gigantic 110-foot Asteroid 2022 QZ6 to zoom past Earth on Wednesday

A gigantic 110 feet wide asteroid named Asteroid 2022 QZ6 is expected to zoom past Earth tomorrow- Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know.

By: SHAURYA TOMER
| Updated on: Aug 30 2022, 12:06 IST
NASA: Hubble Telescope photos reveal a massive 1701 Asteroid trails!
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1/5 The Asteroid Hunter project was a citizen science project by researchers and engineers at the European Science and Technology Centre and the European Space Astronomy Centre’s Science Data Centre, in collaboration with Google and Zooniverse. (NASA)
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2/5 The project’s discovery has highlighted the Hubble Telescope’s ability to capture images of faint asteroids, which was previously unknown. (REUTERS)
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3/5 he images were part of Hubble’s astronomy archive which was studied by scientists and engineers to reveal the asteroid trails. It is a major step towards the new method of studying archives to study astronomy. (NASA)
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4/5 The revelation also reaffirms the importance of civilian contribution in scientific discoveries and endeavours. (Hubble Space Telescope/ESA)
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5/5 The Hubble Telescope is in an orbit and revolves around in space. Scientists can deduct the distance of asteroids from Earth and its orbit by calculating the position of Hubble during the observation and measuring the curvature of the streaks. (AP)
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Asteroid 2022 QZ6 is the third asteroid to pass by Earth in a span of just 3 days. (Pixabay)

Nasa defines asteroids as rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most of them can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids come in all shapes and sizes, with the largest being nearly 530 kilometers in diameter called Vesta. Earth is being bombarded with asteroids this year. August alone has seen more than 35 asteroids passing by Earth closely. Now, another one is on its way.

Asteroid 2022 QZ6 to zoom past Earth

A 110 feet wide asteroid named Asteroid 2022 QZ6 is expected to zoom past Earth tomorrow, August 31. The asteroid is already on its way towards Earth, travelling at a staggering speed of 42,768 kilometers per hour. Nasa has issued a warning classifying the Asteroid 2022 QZ6 as a “Potentially Hazardous Object” due to the close proximity at which it will pass by Earth. Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) which pass by Earth within 8 million kilometers of the planet are classified as potentially hazardous objects. Although they don't collide with Earth, a slight deviation in their trajectory due to the Earth's gravitational pull can send them towards Earth for an impact.

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Current trajectory of Asteroid 2022 QZ6
Current trajectory of Asteroid 2022 QZ6 (NASA)
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Current trajectory of Asteroid 2022 QZ6 (NASA)

The Asteroid 2022 QZ6 is expected to make its closest approach to Earth tomorrow, August 31, at a distance of just 784,000 kilometers. That makes it one of the closest asteroids to pass by Earth this year.

Nasa scrubs Artemis 1 launch

Nasa has postponed the launch of the Artemis 1 mission yesterday due to a malfunction in one of the four RS-25 engines of Nasa's new Space Launch System (SLS). The mission was scheduled for launch yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, a malfunction in one of the engines of the SLS caused engine 3 to bleed less, therefore delaying the launch. The launch was ultimately scrubbed for a later date. Nasa is expected to attempt another launch at 12:48pm EDT this Friday.

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First Published Date: 30 Aug, 12:06 IST
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