Scientists have discovered that an asteroid they called “Halloween’s asteroid”, twice the size of the Empire State Building, will pass near Earth next week, reports Forbes.
A potential danger
The huge rock has been considered a “potential danger” due to speculation by some scientists that it may fall to Earth, according to what The Sun reported.
But other scientists said there is no need to panic, as it is not expected to hit the ground at all.
In fact, scientists believe it will be about six times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
This would put it not far from the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is 828 meters high.
A giant step in planetary defense
The asteroid is scheduled to move after Halloween, on November 1, amateur astronomer Tony Dunn said: “There is no danger, but the newly discovered asteroid will pass less than 6 lunar distances from Earth on November 1, probably up to 740 meters wide. And it will shine to 14.3 Mag, within reach of backyard telescopes.”
And NASA has already started preparing for dangerous asteroids should one head straight to Earth in the future.
In the future, NASA may use similar missions to distract from incoming asteroids that threaten our planet.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the mission and described the project as a “giant step in planetary defense,” according to the report.
In September, the space agency intentionally rammed a spacecraft into an asteroid 11 million miles away as part of a major test.
This was NASA’s first planetary defense test and it’s just the beginning as the agency will use the information to see if the collision has actually altered the asteroid’s path, and will do so toward any Earth-damaging asteroid or what.
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Source: Forbes
