- NASA has identified five potentially hazardous asteroids that will pass by Earth at close distances in the coming days. The space agency used ground and space-based telescopes to detect the asteroids and gather information on their size, speed, and distance of approach.
- The five detected asteroids range in size from 41 feet to over 1,300 feet wide. The closest approach will be made by asteroid 2023 KZ, which will come within 3.4 million kilometers of Earth and is moving at 15,796 kilometers per hour.
- NASA assures the public that there is no cause for alarm with the close approach of these asteroids, but the event serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance in tracking and monitoring near-Earth objects. NASA is working on developing technologies to deflect asteroids that could potentially collide with Earth.
NASA has recently revealed the discovery of five asteroids that are headed towards Earth and the details surrounding their speed, size, and distance. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, the space agency has been able to learn more about these celestial objects and their paths.
The largest of the five asteroids, designated as 2021 AG, measures approximately 500 meters in size, which is roughly the size of the Washington Monument in the United States. This asteroid is also travelling at a staggering speed of 74,000 kilometers per hour.
The second-largest asteroid, known as 2021 AJ1, measures approximately 215 meters in diameter and is travelling at a speed of around 38,000 kilometers per hour. The distance between 2021 AJ1 and Earth is approximately 7.1 million kilometers.
The other asteroids, labeled as 2021 AE, 2021 AV2, and 2021 AR, are much smaller in size, ranging from 11 meters to 140 meters in diameter. They are currently situated at distances ranging from 1.2 million kilometers to 6.8 million kilometers from Earth. The speeds of these asteroids vary from 14,000 kilometers per hour to 62,000 kilometers per hour.
Despite their relatively small sizes, these asteroids still pose a potential threat to Earth. NASA is continuously monitoring these space rocks and will provide updates on their movements in the coming days and weeks. This discovery emphasizes the importance of continued efforts to improve technology and better understand the movements of cosmic objects in our solar system.