The space rock, named 418135 (2008 AG33) , won’t get close enough to pose a problem for our planet, as it will be about eight times farther from Earth than it is from the Moon. It will reach 3.2 million kilometers from us; extremely close in cosmic terms, but not close enough to be of concern to our world.
As it enters Earth’s orbit and reaches its closest point, the asteroid will travel at about 37,400 kilometers per hour ; about 30 times the speed of sound.
Recall that the US space agency marks any space object that is 193 million km from Earth as a “near-Earth object” (NEO) and any fast-moving object around 7.5 million km as ” potentially dangerous”.
Once these objects are classified as “potentially dangerous”, astronomers from NASA’s Center for Near Earth Studies (CNEOS) monitor them in order to find any deviation from their trajectory that could put them on a collision course with Earth. Land.
Tracking these space rocks helps us not only keep an eye on whether the object is getting too close to us, but also helps us understand how asteroid orbits evolve.
He is a regular visitor
The asteroid, which is about 350-780 meters wide , passes by our planet approximately every seven years, with the next close flyby scheduled for May 25, 2029.
NASA, ESA, China and others are working on planetary defense solutions designed to prevent most asteroids from reaching Earth if they are on a direct collision course.
Currently, there are no known objects with trajectories that pose an extinction threat to Earth, but it’s best to be prepared.
Reference: NASA
