Two HUGE asteroids zooming towards Earth today! First is 110 feet, 2nd 250 feet, says NASA

NASA has informed about two gigantic asteroids racing towards Earth today. From size, distance to speed, here is all you need to know.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Apr 16 2023, 14:10 IST

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Best NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Polaris, Running Chicken Nebula and more

North star — 2/5 Polaris, the North Star (April 11) - It is a fascinating image of Polaris and the dust that surrounds it. Although there are 200 billion trillion stars in the sky, Polaris is particularly special because it can help orient yourself as it is located in the direction of the true north. It is also known as the North Star or Pole Star and is present in the constellation of Ursa Minor. (NASA/Javier Zayaz)

3/5 Star cloud in the Andromeda Galaxy (April 12) - This captured image shows the star cloud NGC 206 in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is the brightest star cloud in the galaxy as seen from Earth. Also known as Messier 31, it is a spiral galaxy located approximately 2.5 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. According to NASA, the Andromeda Galaxy is twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy, spanning across nearly 260,000 light-years and containing over 1 trillion stars. (NASA/Howard Trottier)

NASA globular star cluster — 4/5 Globular star cluster NGC 2419 (April 13) - It is the globular star cluster NGC 2419. It is a multi-generational star cluster located about 300,000 light-years away towards the constellation of Lynx. According to NASA, the stars populating globular clusters are very similar because they formed at roughly the same time and because of this, they tend to display similar properties. (NASA/ESA/Hubble)

Spiral Galaxy — 5/5 Fascinating Hamburger Galaxy (April 14) - It is a fascinating snapshot of NGC 3628, also known as the Hamburger Galaxy. It is a spiral galaxy located about 35 million light-years away towards the constellation of Leo and spans about 100,000 light-years. According to NASA, NGC 3628 shares its neighborhood in the local Universe with two other large spirals M65 and M66 in a grouping otherwise known as the Leo Triplet. (NASA/Mike Selby/Mark Hanson)

Sunday, April 16 will be witnessing two massive asteroids zooming towards planet Earth. One of the asteroids is as big as 250 feet, which is as large as a building, while the other is 110 feet. NASA, via Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), has informed about these asteroids along with others that will be nearing the planet in coming days. Wondering how close these asteroids will come to the planet and at what speed? Here is all NASA has informed about the same.

250-foot asteroid 2020 BV14

The massive 250-foot asteroid named 2020 BV14 is all set to fly past planet Earth on today, April 16. According to the details provided by NASA's JPL, this building-sized asteroid called 2020 BV14 will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 6.81 million kilometers and is travelling at a speed of 29376 kilometer per hour. Will it be dangerous? No. As per the current trajectory on which it is travelling, the asteroid will pass by the planet.

110-foot asteroid 2020 FQ6

This is another giant rock which will be coming as close as 5.01 million kilometers to planet Earth. This airplane sized asteroid is travelling at a mind numbing speed of 34776 kilometers per hour. Similar to the 250 foot asteroid, this too will not be a threat to the planet.

NASA keeps tracking these asteroids to ensure that, if due to any reason, they change their trajectory, enough time may be obtained to send a warning to the public at large. In order to keep an eye on the asteroids and track their movement, NASA has deployed several Earth and Sky-based technologies like telescopes, satellites, and more.

There are currently 1278661 known steroids and all these vary in size and shape with the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter to less than 33 feet (10 meters) across.

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First Published Date: 16 Apr, 14:10 IST