NASA alerts that a massive asteroid will pass Earth today- Check details

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With the help of its ground and space-based telescopes, NASA has tracked an asteroid whose orbit will bring it very close to Earth today, April 23.

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The orbits of Asteroids often bring them close to Earth, and this is known as a ‘close approach’. This happens after interaction with a planet’s gravitational field.

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These accidental encounters can knock asteroids out of the main belt and hurl them into space in all directions across the orbits of the other planets.

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As per the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid has been given the designation of Asteroid 2024 HS.

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This near-Earth space rock is expected to pass Earth today at a close distance of approximately 7.4 million kilometres.

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It is already hurtling in its orbit at a speed of about 20546 kilometres per hour.

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In terms of size, Asteroid 2024 HS is nearly 81 feet wide, which makes it almost as big as an aircraft!

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It belongs to the Amor group of Near-Earth Asteroids named after asteroid 1221 Amor, an asteroid discovered by Belgian astronomer E. Delporte in 1932.