NASA: A 270-feet wide massive asteroid is hurtling towards the Earth; Will it hit tomorrow? Find out

An asteroid, larger than the Qutb Minar, is gunning for the Earth, says NASA. Know whether it can strike the Earth and what potential damage it can cause.

According to NASA, a gigantic asteroid will be approaching Earth tomorrow. Check out the risk of an asteroid strike. (Pixabay)

After a quiet spell, we are going to witness the largest asteroid flyby of the month of June. According to NASA, a 270-feet wide asteroid will be making its closest approach to the Earth tomorrow, June 12. For reference, it is larger than the Qutb Minar situated in New Delhi, which stands tall at 239-feet. At the same time, it is also going to be one of the closest asteroid approaches of this month. Its large size and close proximity has resulted in it being classified as a near-Earth object (NEO). If an asteroid this size were to hit the Earth, it could spell disaster for us. So, are there any chances of an asteroid strike? Read on to find out.

According to the Jet Propulsion lab, a division of NASA, this particular asteroid has been named 2022 GU6. The number 2022 suggests that this asteroid was first discovered in 2022 itself and there is no previous data available for the space rock. The 270-feet or 82 meters wide asteroid is predicted to fly past the Earth at a distance of 751,000 kilometers. While this may seem like a large distance, in astronomical terms, it is a minuscule number. Again, for reference, the distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384,400 kilometers, which means this asteroid will pass from a distance just twice that of the Moon. Fortunately, at the moment, it is expected that the asteroid will make a safe passage and is not likely to impact.

NASA: Asteroid, larger than the Qutb Minar, is set to approach the Earth

While no past data is available around the asteroid, which makes it tricky to predict, NASA has been closely monitoring it. In fact, all asteroids marked as NEO are tracked by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office of NASA. The asteroid is part of the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. Its perihelion coincides with the orbit of the Earth, meaning there was always going to be a rare chance of this asteroid coming too close to the planet. But this time, its perihelion will also match the time when the Earth will be passing through its orbit at the same spot.

In a hypothetical situation that this asteroid does strike the Earth, it will immediately flatten tens of kilometers of land instantly. It can also give rise to forest fires, earthquakes and tsunamis. Making it worse, the dust and dirt rising from the impact can also aggravate global warming.