Look out! Skyscraper-sized asteroid to make Earth approach soon
Asteroids frequently come near Earth, but they don't usually pose any danger since they pass the planet at a safe distance. Shockingly, astronomers have spotted three near-Earth asteroids (NEA) hiding in the glare of the Sun. One of the asteroids is the largest object that is potentially hazardous to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years. This is a notoriously challenging region for observations because asteroid hunters must contend with the glare of the Sun.
NASA has also warned that one potentially hazardous asteroid is on its way towards Earth and it will pass by the planet very closely soon!
NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office has warned that the asteroid, named Asteroid 2018 UQ1, will make its closest approach to Earth tomorrow, March 17, at a distance of 4.1 million kilometers. What's concerning about this asteroid is its monstrous size. With a width of nearly 450 feet, Asteroid 2018 UQ1 has a similar size to that of a whole building!
The asteroid is already travelling towards Earth, at a blistering speed of 42037 kilometers per hour. According to NASA, it belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids, which are a group of Near-Earth asteroids named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
Amid all the close asteroid flybys, NASA has revealed that an asteroid struck the Earth in November last year! NASA keeps a watch on these asteroids by studying data collected by various space and ground-based telescopes and observatories such as the Pan-STARRS, the Catalina Sky Survey and the NEOWISE telescope. However, this asteroid was seemingly missed by all of them and was discovered just hours before impact!
NASA has revealed that a tiny asteroid lit up
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