Another asteroid is making its way towards Earth, this time it is larger than the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Here’s everything we know about it.
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Asteroid coming close to Earth
The Independent reported that space rock named 2022 PC is expected to pass by the Earth at a distance of 6,300,000km.
So you can put it a bit more into perspective, on average, the distance between Earth and the Moon is around 384,633km.
NASA spotted the asteroid on its Jet Propulsion Laboratory with its Asteroid Watch dashboard. This dashboard lists a bunch of asteroids that are approaching Earth within 4.6 million miles of the planet.
Passing on August 18
Asteroid 2022 PC will pass by Earth on August 18 according to NASA. The asteroid is 58 metres wide and was discovered in July 2022. When scientists first discovered it, it was revolving near the orbits of Earth and Venus.
As per The Independent, the asteroid is set to pass Earth at a whopping speed of about 14,580km per hour (9227 miles per hour).
When is an asteroid considered dangerous?
For NASA, any space object larger than 150 metres (492 feet) that come within 4.6 million miles from Earth can be deemed ‘potentially hazardous’ according to the Asteroid Watch dashboard.
Asteroid 2022 PC is to make a safe passing of Earth but scientists are still monitoring its trajectory and analysing possible pass-by scenarios.
Read more:
⋙ Astronomy: Beginner's guide to get started
⋙ Green meteors spotted in New Zealand, experts explain the origin of their colour
