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The asteroid, christened by NASA Asteroid 2006 QV89, flies over the Earth on a near approach trajectory. NASA predicts that space rock will come closer to Earth on Monday morning, Friday, September 27, early. The asteroid, meanwhile, will arrive around 4:45 (Paris time). NASA then announced that the asteroid would fly at a speed of about 4.13 km per second (14,868 km / h).
What do we know about the 2006 QV89 asteroid?
The 2006 QV89 asteroid was observed for the first time in flight around the solar system 13 years ago, August 29, 2006.
At the time, the asteroid was too weak and too small to be observed properly.
The initial uncertainty around its orbit suggested that there was a 7,000 chance that the rock would hit Earth.
Since the initial discovery, astronomers have made an additional 76 observations to determine the speed, size and trajectory of QV89.
READ MORE: How often do asteroids hit Earth? What is the danger
The European Space Agency (ESA) said: "Asteroids come and go, literally, often frustrating astronomers.
"You can spot a rock from the rolling space, take steps to refine its orbit, and a few days later, it's gone – remaining potentially unobservable for decades."
According to the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies, QV89 is a small NEO or near-Earth Apollo object.
NEOs are comets and asteroids flying around the inner solar system that sometimes intersect with Earth's orbit.
READ MORE: Expert warns NASA can not prevent some effects – "Insanely irresponsible"
Apollo rocks are asteroids that cross the orbit in the same way as the 1862 Apollo asteroid.
The asteroid measures between 23 and 52 meters in diameter.
At the top of the NASA estimate, the size of the asteroid is comparable to that of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London.
At the bottom of the estimated size, the space is about twice as long as a London double-decker bus.
READ MORE: Billions of people will die as a result of an asteroidal impact – shock warning
Will the 2006 QV89 asteroid hit the planet tomorrow morning?
Despite the initial uncertainty surrounding the trajectory of the asteroid 13 years ago, astronomers have been able to map the orbit of the space rock.
ESA said: "The new observations made with the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope from August 10 to 11 revealed the real position of the asteroid, excluding any potential threat of impact on the Earth. from 2006 QV89 for the next century. "
Tomorrow morning, the asteroid will approach the Earth at a safe distance of about 0.04631 astronomical unit (at).
An astronomical unit is the distance between our planet and the Sun – 149 million miles (149.6 million km).
In other words, the asteroid QV86 will pass from a safety distance of more than 6.9 million km.
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