NASA astronomers have identified a group of eight asteroids that will approach Earth this month, starting today. Scientists are tracking thousands of near-Earth objects to monitor whether they are on a collision course with our planet, according to RT.
It is expected that these asteroids will pass near Earth between January 20 and 28, as it is believed that the largest of these asteroids will pass at an estimated speed of 32,600 miles per hour.
And although these asteroids are approaching from a close distance to us (according to space measurements), they will not cause any harm to Earth.
The closest to us will be the asteroid 2022 AE6, which will travel 1.1 million miles from Earth at 20,000 miles per hour, on January 20, and is about 148 feet wide.
Today, January 20, will also witness the passage of a second asteroid called 2022 AB, which may be 361 feet wide, which means that it is larger than the Statue of Liberty, which is about 305 feet high.
2022 AB will be 2.3 million miles from Earth at its closest approach to the planet, with an estimated speed of about 13,000 miles per hour.
It is noteworthy that NASA classifies any object that passes within 120 million miles of Earth as a “Near Earth Object” (NEO).
Any fast-moving space object within 4.65 million miles is considered a “potential danger” by space agencies.
And one small change in its trajectories could spell disaster on Earth.
Two more asteroids are expected to pass near Earth on January 21, the smallest of which are 62 to 118 feet wide.
The asteroid 2022 AX4 will launch first at a distance of about 1.9 million miles, and then will be followed by asteroid 2018 PN22, which NASA expects to pass from a distance of 2.7 million miles.
According to the list of the American Space Agency, a much larger space rock is expected to pass on January 24, and it is called 2017 XC62, and NASA believes that its width is up to 623 feet, and this is more than twice the size of the Statue of Liberty, and it is indicated that its speed will reach 9,500 miles per hour from A distance of 4.4 million miles.
The last three asteroids are expected to pass near Earth on January 27 and 28, and range in width from 101 feet to 213 feet.
It is expected that the asteroid 2022 AG6 will reach a distance of 1.8 million miles from Earth and will have a speed of slightly more than 8000 miles per hour.