NASA revealed that the Apollo asteroids will be only 622,000 kilometers away from Earth!know how big it is

Over the past few weeks, a number of asteroids have passed close to Earth. The orbits of these space rocks put them close enough to Earth to be monitored by space agencies such as NASA and the European Space Agency. Their approach is monitored to minimize uncertainty in their trajectory and eliminate the risk of impact. Asteroids are monitored with ground- and space-based telescopes and satellites, such as the NEOWISE telescope, the Pans-STARRS1 telescope on Maui, and the Catalina Survey Telescope near Tucson, Arizona. Using these technological marvels, NASA has released details of an Apollo asteroid that is expected to pass very close to Earth today (March 15).

Also read: NASA reveals plane-sized space rock will fly close to Earth

Asteroid 2024 EK3: Details of close approach

NASA said the asteroid was observed and tracked by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) organization. The organization monitors the skies and monitors asteroids and comets as well as objects known as near-Earth objects (NEOs).

The asteroid passing Earth today has been named 2024 EK3, and it is just one of two space rocks that will approach Earth, the other being 2020 FU. This near-Earth space rock is expected to make its closest approach to Earth, at a distance of only 662,000 kilometers! That’s less than twice the distance between the moon and the earth!

NASA said that the asteroid has been moving towards the Earth at an astonishing speed of about 24,623 kilometers per hour, almost as fast as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)! The asteroid is only 19 feet wide, about the size of a car. It is worth noting that although asteroid 2024 EK3 will approach the Earth, it is not expected to impact the Earth’s surface.

Also read: What are asteroids and how ESA tracks them

It belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, which are space rocks that pass through the Earth and have a semi-major axis that is larger than the Earth’s major axis. These asteroids are named after the giant 1862 Apollo asteroid, which was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

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