A new asteroid, approximately 4,500 feet in diameter, is approaching the Earth and will come close to our planet on August 21, at night. US Space Agency NASA, keeping in mind the same, has listed asteroid 2016 AJ193 as 'potentially hazardous'.
Even though the asteroid will pass Earth from a distance 9 times that of the Earth and the moon, it asteroid 2016 AJ193 will be traveling at a massive speed of 94,208 kilometers per hour. What more is that enthusiastic astronomers will be able to witness the 1.4-kilometer-wide asteroid move past our planet in its orbit via a telescope.
NASA, which has listed asteroid 2016 AJ193 as 'potentially hazardous', has also said that the object will come close to Earth next time in the year 2063.
The asteroid was spotted first in January 2016 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) facility which is located in Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii. Astronomers have said that the asteroid is very dark and not reflective. Several things including its rotation period, pole direction, and spectral class are all concealed as of now, according to EarthSky.
For the unversed, this asteroid orbits around the Sun every 5.9 years and gets close to planet Earth, however, it later travels beyond planet Jupiter's orbit.
August 21 i.e. tomorrow is especially important as it is the first time that the asteroid will be approaching so close to Earth, at least for the next 65 years, the longest time for which its course has been calculated.
