information about the new Asteroids hurtling toward Earth always attract a lot of attention, but hardly any space rock has a real chance of threatening our planet. The smallest are not massive enough to penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, and the largest usually pass Earth at a safe distance.
It is true that it is on the list of potentially dangerous things (the acronym of PHO) NASA There are about 2,000. Location, but there is no asteroid or comet at the moment that does not directly threaten Earth. At least not in the coming years or decades.
An exceptionally large asteroid is racing towards Earth
no Means However, astronomers in the sky are not looking for more celestial bodies that will be close to our planet in the future. Researchers now from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) informedThe next such meeting will be held on Friday (27 May).
A short distance away, asteroid 7335 (1989 JA), belonging to the Apollo group, is called Earth. It was discovered in May 1989 and classified by NASA as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA). It is really a huge space rock with a diameter of 1.8 kilometers, and therefore it is probably much larger than most asteroids that cross the Earth’s orbit.
Therefore, in the event of a potential impact, 7335 (1989 JA) would cause severe damage to the Earth. Suffice it to say that the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteorite (its explosion indirectly injured at least 1,000 people) was “only” 17 meters in diameter, and that the asteroid that killed the non-avian dinosaurs and caused the extinction of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago 10 to a dozen kilometers Diameter.
But this time, we’re safe, because 7335 (1989 JA) will fly a relatively short distance, but it’s still important from Earth. On Friday, he will pass our planet with a reserve of about 4 million km – this is just over 10 times the distance of the Earth.the moon. Currently, it is rushing towards us at a speed of approximately 76 thousand. km / h (relative to the ground).
According to NASA researchers, it will be the largest asteroid that will approach our planet this year. 7335 (1989 JA) will return to us around the year 2055, but then – according to calculations – it will pass the Earth at a distance seven times greater than it did next Friday.