Asteroid 2023 OE5 speeding towards Earth; NASA reveals close encounter details

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Asteroids follow orbits that occasionally bring them near Earth, and their potential threat to our planet is a concern acknowledged by the US space agency NASA. Throughout time, various asteroid impacts have occurred, such as the Chelyabinsk asteroid event and the devastating Chicxulub asteroid, which is believed to have resulted in dinosaur extinction. More recently, an incident in France involved a space rock striking a woman in the chest. Putting things in perspective is NASA's Dr. Kelly E. Fast, who emphasizes that Earth has experienced asteroid impacts in the past and believes that such events will recur. The idea is to find and track all asteroids that pose a threat to Earth and deal with it.

According to the details published by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), an asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2023 OE5, is on its way toward Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet on August 14.

As per the details, Asteroid 2023 OE5 is expected to make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of just 960000 kilometers, and at a speed of 13934 kilometers per hour. The asteroid is estimated to be the size of a house.

This question always arises when an asteroid approaches Earth - is it hazardous for our planet? However, NASA says that Asteroid 2023 OE5 isn't large enough to be a "Potentially Hazardous Object," and the agency does not believe it will actually hit the ground. NASA estimates that Asteroid 2023 OE5, is about 57 feet wide.

The asteroid 2023 OE5 belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids. These asteroids are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth's. These asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid which was discovered by