Determined not to suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs, we have dotted our continents and even the orbit of our planet with telescopes. The telescopes scan space, enabling astronauts to spot potentially dangerous asteroids. Thanks to these observations, NASA compiles a weekly list of the most notable asteroids. One of them is as big as the largest marine animal.
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(2023 VY8): a thirty-metre-long asteroid
This asteroid is (2023 VY8). As its name suggests, it was spotted within the year 2023, and more precisely on November 12, 2023. On the asteroid page of its website, NASA indicates that this celestial object is 30 meters long, equivalent to the size of a whale.
It was detected rather late, but that's hardly surprising: the smaller the asteroid, the more likely it is to slip through the net. In other words, barring a collective error on the part of the various space agencies, the most potentially dangerous asteroids have already been detected. NASA has also indicated that none of them is likely to pose a major problem for at least another millennium.
Smaller ones, such as (2023 VY8) are not to be underestimated.
Read more: NASA announces an asteroid the size of a twelve-floor building is approaching Earth this week
When will (2023 VY8) pass close to Earth?
NASA reports that this asteroid will be closest to our planet this Wednesday, November 29. The word 'approach' is used because it is not expected to cross our planet's path: it will pass 'only' 6.5 million kilometers from us.
It remains listed by NASA for safety reasons. Admittedly, such a small asteroid doesn't have the capacity to generate mass extinction, but it could nevertheless cause major damage on the scale of a city, for example. The margin it leaves us, however, is quite comfortable, so there's nothing to worry about.
Read more:This man woke up to find his car allegedly smashed by a meteor (PHOTO)
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
Source used:
NASA: Next Five Asteroid Approaches
