A potentially dangerous giant asteroid will pass through Earth at a speed of 37,400 km / h on Thursday, according to NASA.
The asteroid, named 418135 (2008 AG33), has an approximate diameter of between 350 and 780 meters, revealed by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Research (CNEOS).
NASA defines any space object within 193 million km of Earth as a “near-Earth object” (NEO), and any fast-moving object within 7.5 million km as “potentially dangerous.”
According to the Center, as they orbit the Sun, NEOs can sometimes come close to Earth. However, he explains that an astronomically “close” passage can be very far from human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometers.
Therefore, asteroid 418135 is expected to pass our planet without any risk of impact, Live Science reported.
At its closest point, the asteroid, traveling at more than 30 times the speed of sound, will come within about 3.2 million kilometers of Earth, which is approximately eight times the average distance between Earth and the Moon.
Asteroid 418135 was first discovered on January 12, 2008 by asteroid surveyors at the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter in Arizona last passed Earth on March 1, 2015, according to CNEOS.
The asteroid orbits its planet approximately every seven years, and the next close flight is expected to come on May 25, 2029.
But it may not be the largest space rock to be thrown around the Earth. Another asteroid, called 467,460 (2006 JF42), is being touted as the largest to cross Earth, the report said.
The space rock has an approximate diameter of between 380 and 860 meters and will move at approximately 40,700 km / h when it crosses Earth on May 9.
Several space agencies are already working on ways to divert asteroids flying straight to Earth.
Last November, NASA launched a spacecraft as part of its double asteroid diversion mission, which plans to divert a harmless asteroid by knocking it off course.
China is also in the early stages of planning a mission to redirect asteroids. By hitting 23 Long March 5 rockets on the asteroid Benu, the country says it will be able to divert the space rock from a potentially catastrophic impact on Earth, the report said.
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