Wow! 2500-foot hazardous Asteroid 2022 RM4 coming towards Earth, warns NASA

NASA warns that a gigantic 2500-foot wide hazardous Asteroid 2022 RM4 will be coming dangerously close to the Earth on November 1, 2022. Know the scary consequences.

NASA reports that potentially hazardous asteroid 2022 RM4 is headed towards the Earth. (Pixabay)

For the last few months, the Earth has seen many big asteroids fly by, but now a truly massive asteroid is coming close to it. All we have witnessed are smaller space rocks between 100 to 500 feet in width, which could be dangerous if they struck the planet but they would not be able to drive humanity to extinction. But that is about to change. According to NASA data, a 2500-foot potentially hazardous asteroid 2022 will be making its closest approach to the Earth on November 1, 2022. This is a very concerning development because if this asteroid struck the Earth, it could flatten hundreds of kilometers of land, cause earthquakes, tectonic shifts, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and forest fires. And that just would be the beginning. So, read on to know if the asteroid can strike the Earth.

Potentially hazardous asteroid to approach the Earth

The asteroid was recently added to the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) database which has revealed some important information regarding the asteroid. The name of the space rock is Asteroid 2022 RM4, and it was first observed on September 12 of this year, that's what the 4 digit number in its name indicates. The asteroid is traveling at a mind-numbing speed of 84528 kilometers per hour. This is extremely fast, even for asteroids as most of them travel in the range of 25,000-50,000 kilometers per hour. With its size and speed, it can cause some serious damage to our planet, if it ends up hitting us.

However, early predictions highlight that the asteroid will come as close as 1.3 million kilometers to the Earth, which is horrifically close. However, it will likely make a safe passage across the planet without harming us. But last moment deflections do take place, and if it were to happen, we would be facing its wrath.

The asteroid has been classified as potentially hazardous. NASA assigns this classification to any asteroid that comes closer than 7.4 million kilometers to the Earth and is of a considerable size to pose a serious threat to the planet. With Asteroid 2022 RM4 fulfilling both of these criteria, this asteroid is of major concern to astronomers.