NASA reveals asteroid is only 721,000 kilometers from Earth today; know how big it is

There will be a visit from an asteroid on the first day of April. Using advanced ground- and space-based telescopes, NASA has revealed traces of an asteroid that has been observed in its orbit today (April 1) Close to Earth.

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Asteroid 2024 FQ3

NASA says asteroid 2024 FQ3 is just one of millions of asteroids orbiting the sun. Most of these space rocks are found in the main asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which keeps a close eye on similar objects, revealed that asteroid 2024 FQ3 will pass by a distance of 721,000 kilometers from Earth today. That’s less than twice the distance from the Earth to the Moon!

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It orbits the sun at approximately 69,357 kilometers per hour. This is even faster than the space shuttle! 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.

How big is it?

In terms of size, the asteroid is only 38 feet wide, which is comparable to a bus. Although it is not expected to impact the Earth’s surface, NASA has declared it a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) due to its relatively close proximity to Earth.

Also read: What are asteroids and how ESA tracks them

How does NASA track asteroids?

NASA said that once its telescopes track a new near-Earth object, astronomers will observe the asteroid’s position in the sky and report it to the Minor Planet Center. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) then studied the data to determine its most likely orbit around the sun.

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