Apollo asteroid to pass Earth today, reveals NASA

tech.hindustantimes.com:

For years, it has been known that the most likely cause of the extinction of dinosaurs was an asteroid impact. The most common theory behind the extinction is the Alvarez hypothesis, which claims that an asteroid struck Earth nearly 65 million years ago and wiped out entire species of dinosaurs. This theory is backed by some proof too as scientists have also discovered its impact crater, known as the Chicxulub crater, buried under the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. As per the hypothesis, the impact of the asteroid would have caused the formation of huge tidal waves and an impact crater almost 140 km wide. Lland material would have splattered into space, changing the Earth into a nuclear winter-like environment, ultimately leading to the demise of dinosaurs.

In a new development, NASA's Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), responsible for monitoring the skies and watching various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), has shed light on an asteroid that will pass Earth closely today. Know all about it.

NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has designated this space rock as Asteroid 2023 UH. The asteroid will pass Earth today, October 20, at a distance of 2.5 million kilometers. It is already rushing for a close approach to Earth in its orbit, travelling at a speed of about 39932 kilometers per hour, which is just shy of the speed of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)!

This space rock belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth's. These asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

NASA has also revealed details about the asteroid's size, and it is not big