According to NASA, a massive 720 feet asteroid, named 2022 BH7, will fly past Earth today, check out its details
This is going to be a great weekend for astronomy enthusiasts! A massive football stadium sized asteroid will be approaching Earth today, February 18, according to NASA. This giant 720 feet (210 mtr) wide asteroid has been named 2022 BH7. This asteroid is among several asteroids headed for Earth this week. There are two other near Earth objects (NEO), both the size of an airplane, scheduled to fly past Earth. And that’s not all. There is one more school bus-sized asteroid named 2022 CX4 that is scheduled to come within 1,090,000 kilometers of Earth, the closest of the bunch. So, make sure to keep an eye and maybe a telescope out to watch these amazing celestial beasts moving in their glory.
The sigh of relief, however, is that none of these asteroids are likely to hit Earth. The Planetary Defense Office (PDO) is constantly watching and observing all NEO objects to ensure that none of them pose a danger to our home planet. However, all NEO asteroids are dangerous by nature because a slight change in the direction can make them come hurtling towards us. But as of now, PDO has not identified any objects that pose a threat to us.
Giant asteroid approaching Earth today
According to NASA, 2022 BH7 is very close to Earth and will fly past us soon. This asteroid is revolving around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, tracing up to Earth on one elongated end, and Mars on the other. The asteroid should make a pass from a distance of 2,290,000 Kms. The number may seem very high, but in terms of interplanetary motion, it is nothing but an insignificant blip. That’s why NASA is constantly monitoring the asteroid for any last moment changes that may happen due to unforeseen circumstances.
If you are interested in tracking this and subsequent asteroids’ movements, then you can do so using this link here. The link will direct you to NASA’s Small Body Database where you can also check out more interesting information about the asteroid including orbit parameters and Osculating Orbital Elements.
NASA is working hard at spotting these asteroids and assessing their threat potential towards Earth. But there is still a lot to be done. While PDO has identified and assessed most of the medium (more than 300 mtr) to large (more than 1km) sized celestial bodies, it has only been able to spot less than half of the estimated 25,000 small NEO asteroids, which are between 140mtr and 300mtr in size. These smaller asteroids may not be able to destroy the planet but they can definitely cause a global catastrophe.
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