Despite its discovery a few days ago, a huge asteroid the size of a London city bus is very close to Earth, today, Thursday, as it will be at a distance of 54843.9 miles from planet Earth at about 14:45 GMT, that is, at 4:45 pm Cairo time, according to What was announced by the US space agency “NASA”.
Details of an asteroid approaching planet Earth
And according to the British “Daily Mail” website, the asteroid approaching Earth, called 2022 NF, is estimated to be a little more than a quarter of the moon’s distance at its closest point to Earth, which is 225,623 miles away.
Fortunately, NASA calculates that the massive space rock will pass safely on planet Earth, although the space agency has not ruled out the chances of an asteroid collision in the near future.
Information about asteroid 2022 NF
The 2022 NF was discovered using data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and the Pan-STARRS Rapid Response System, a system of cameras and telescopes based in Hawaii.
Although the asteroid approached Earth today, it is surprising that it was recognized many days ago, specifically on July 4th.
Measurements indicate that the asteroid is between 17.7 and 39.3 feet (5.4 and 12 metres) in diameter, the same size as the original London Routemaster bus.
As it approaches, the asteroid will travel at staggering speeds of 24,606 mph – about 12 times faster than a bullet, and while the chance of this asteroid hitting Earth is low, NASA has not ruled out the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth in the near future.
NASA discovers about 30 new near-Earth objects (NEOs) each week, and at the beginning of 2019 discovered a total of more than 19,000.