And gigantic asteroid listed as “potentially dangerous” will pass in front of Earth this Thursday (April 28), according to NASA. Fortunately, scientists hope that the asteroid will pass close, but safely, which means that no risk of collision with our planet.
It’s about the asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33)has an estimated diameter of between 350 and 780 meters. Something twice the size of the Empire State Building. It will enter Earth’s orbit at a frightening speed of more than 30 times the speed of sound, which is about 37,400 km/h.
At the time of writing this article (17:51 GMT-5) the asteroid is 3.3 million kilometers or 0.022 astronomical units away. At its closest point, the asteroid will come within about 3.2 million kilometers of Earth, which is roughly eight times the average distance between Earth and the Moon (which is 384,000 km). Below, you can see in greater detail, the Earth and the asteroid in question are in the region marked in yellow. If you want to follow its orbit in real time click on it here.
(Credit: NASA, JPL/Teach Me Science).
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(Credit: NASA, JPL/Teach Me Science).
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That distance may seem like a lot to you, but according to NASA standards it is enough to consider the asteroid as potentially dangerous. In fact, any space object that comes within 193 million km of Earth is identified as a “near-Earth object”. When the object moves fast and is less than 7.5 million km away, it is classified as potentially dangerous.
It is worth mentioning that some pass even within the lunar orbit and are not considered potentially dangerous, because they are very small. About the size of a small bus or smaller. For example, the small asteroid called 2022 HB1 that passed a few days ago 201,000 km from us. In a general way we can say that in astronomy “near” is a relative term.
We have talked a lot about the fact that this month has been rewarded to enjoy the astronomical events, although asteroids also joined the party. Before the end of this month, three asteroids the size of a house will pass close to Earth. The surprising thing is that on May 9, an asteroid even larger than the gigantic 418135 (2008 AG33) will pass close to our planet.
Do we have to worry? In reality, you most likely have personal matters that you need to pay more attention to. Scientists are alert to these possible scenarios and asteroids that could pose a threat are constantly monitored.
According to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) According to NASA, with an average interval of about 10,000 years, rocky or iron asteroids larger than 100 meters would be expected to reach the Earth’s surface and cause local disasters or produce tidal waves that can inundate low-lying coastal areas. While every several hundred thousand years, an asteroid larger than a kilometer could cause global disasters.
Asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33), was discovered in 2008 and passes close to Earth every 7 years. The last time he got close was in 2015, now he’s doing it again and is expected to return in May 2029.
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