Asteroid The Size Of A ¡®London Bus¡¯ Set To Fly Within Just 13,000 Miles Of The Earth
During the passing, 2020 SW will be just 17,661 miles away from Earth. For comparison, the moon is around 238,866 miles away from our planet.
An asteroid the size of a bus is set to make a close fly-by of Earth on September 24.
According to reports, the object will travel some 13,000 miles away from Earth, which is closer than moon and weather satellites floating in space.
Image For Representation
The asteroid, dubbed 2020 SW, measures around 4.4 - 9.9 metres in diameter. At the higher end of that estimate, it could be roughly the same size as a London bus!
The closest approach will occur Thursday morning over the southeastern Pacific Ocean.
Also Read: Asteroid Thrice The Size Of Statue Of Liberty To Pass By Earth At 37,800 Kmph
Asteroids of this size hit Earth's atmosphere and burn up once every year or two, according to Paul Chodas, director of the Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
2020 SW, discovered by @Catalina_sky, is about 15 to 30 ft. wide and will pass by Earth Thurs., Sept. 24, at a distance of about 13,000 miles (22,000 km). Tiny asteroids like 2020 SW approach Earth this closely several times every year and aren't a threat: https://t.co/xKWtzxLI7Q pic.twitter.com/FpkY77zibw
¡ª NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) September 23, 2020
There could be as many as 100 million of these little asteroids out there.
Also Read: Car-Sized Asteroid Which Flew Past Earth Unnoticed By NASA Was Discovered By IIT Bombay Students
"In fact, asteroids of this size impact our atmosphere at an average rate of about once every year or two," Chodas added.
NASA
JPL also notes that the asteroid will fly past Earth closer than the moon orbits, which is about 240,000 miles away, and make a close approach below the ring of geostationary satellites orbiting about 22,000 miles from our planet.
Fortunately, the asteroid is not on an impact trajectory with earth, and if it were, our atmosphere would likely break it apart, creating a bright meteor, known as a fireball.
Another asteroid called 2018 VP1 is projected to make a close pass on the day before the US Election Day.
The 6.5-foot asteroid poses no threat to Earth and its puny stature would be no match for our atmosphere, even if it had an impact trajectory with earth.
