NASA: Asteroid, as big as a 6-storey building, headed towards Earth
After a large number of asteroids flew past the Earth last week, it appears the bombardment is not going to stop any time soon. There are more asteroids hurtling towards Earth, and the latest one among them is an 18-meter wide (as large as a six-storey building) asteroid.NASA says this asteroid will approach us tomorrow, March 23. With an increasing number of asteroids passing, the threat of one of them deviating from their path and crashing onto the Earth has also increased. In fact, this is what happened last week when asteroid 2022 EB5 was pulled by the Earth’s gravitational force and it crashed in Iceland. However, according to NASA Asteroid Watch, this one is likely to make a safe passage across our planet. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, there is noting to worry about.
According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid named 2022 EA5 will zoom past Earth at a distance of 5,700,000 kilometers. The distance may seem too large to generate any fear but in terms of astronomical distances, this is just a small number. And that is why astronomers are keeping a constant watch on this asteroid. The 2022 EA5 has been classified as a near earth object (NEO) and all NEOs carry a potntial risk value as they do pose a threat of striking Earth.
Asteroid 2022 EA5 is 18 meters wide. It does appear small, but an asteroid even this size is capable of causing localized destruction if it crashes against Earth. The asteroid is revolving around the Earth in an elliptical orbit, tracing up to it on one elongated end,and halfway to Jupiter on the other. The asteroid is part of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. If you want to know more about this asteroid, you can go to NASA’s Small Body Database by clicking this
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