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NASA has reported that an asteroid, the size of a football field, which is potentially hazardous, is heading towards Earth.
On Friday afternoon at 2:41pm (GMT), an asteroid named 2008 OS7 with a diameter of approximately 890 feet will come within 1,770,000 miles of Earth.
Nonetheless, there is no danger of crashing into something.
According to NASA, potentially dangerous asteroids are defined as those that are at least 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter and have orbits that come within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
by NASA
In 2008, NASA classified OS7 as a potentially hazardous asteroid due to its small size and orbit that crosses paths with Earth’s.
According to Dr. Minjae Kim, a Research Fellow in the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, the asteroid 2008 OS7, which has a small size and shares a similar orbit with Earth, has been designated as a potentially dangerous asteroid (PHA).
He said, “We do not need to be overly concerned about this asteroid, as it will not enter Earth’s atmosphere. However, it will still come close to our planet.”
There are over millions of asteroids in our solar system, with approximately 2,350 of them being classified as PHAs.
“The next major encounter of a potentially hazardous asteroid with Earth will be on April 14, 2029 with the 99942 Apophis.”
Asteroid 2008 OS7 takes 962 days (equivalent to 2.63 Earth years) to complete one revolution around the sun.
Dr. Kim stated that it is challenging to spot asteroids with the naked eye because they are usually too dim to be detected using current methods and surveys.
“Currently, the only asteroids that can be seen with the naked eye are Pallas and Vesta, both with diameters of approximately 500 km.”
Between now and Friday, four additional asteroids will pass near Earth. These asteroids vary in size, with some as small as a plane and others as large as a house.
These will be: 2024 BR3 at 100 feet in size; 2024BR (63 feet); 2003 BM03 (120 feet); and 2024 BJ03 (73 feet).
Source: independent.co.uk
