The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has revealed that a massive asteroid, almost equal to the size of an aircraft, is headed towards Earth today - September 13, 2022. The asteroid, 22 RQ, is already on its way to the Earth, travelling at an incredible speed of 49,536.
Read on to know if Asteroid 22 RQ will fly past our planet or miss the earth without disrupting anything.
NASA has said that Asteroid 22 RQ will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 3.7 million km but will miss it. NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office has, however, warned that Asteroid 22 RQ which is 84 feet wide, is almost equal to the size of an aircraft.
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According to a report on the-sky.org, Asteroid 22 RQ was first discovered on September 1, 2022. It belongs to the main Apollo group of asteroids.
To track asteroids, NASA also has a NEO Observations Program which helps them not only track but also record, monitor, and characterise close to 90% of the NEOs (near-Earth objects) that are almost 140 meters or larger in size.
Near-Earth objects (NEO) is a common name for various kinds of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. According to the US space agency NASA, an asteroid that is smaller in size can be caught passing between Earth and Moon several times a month.
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Meanwhile, meteoroids, small pieces of an asteroid, and comets, more often than not less than 3 feet in size, can hit the atmosphere of the Earth and explode in it. This phenomenon occurs almost every day.
NASA, last year, had also launched the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) program. The program is designed to aim at planetary defence against near-Earth Objects.
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