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The fast asteroid stands higher than the Big Ben clock tower and is heading towards a "near approach" trajectory. NASA expects the asteroid to approach Earth around 22:19 BST (1:19 UTC) on Sunday 22 September. When approaching, the asteroid will fly at speeds of 8.19 km per second or 19 484 km / h (18,420.51 mph). NASA has christened the great Asteroid 2019 QZ1 space rock.
What do we know about the asteroid 2019 QZ1?
The QZ1 asteroid is a near-Earth object or an Apollo-type NEO trapped in the inner solar system.
The asteroid crosses Earth's orbit in the same way as the 1862 Apollo asteroid.
NEOs are all asteroids and space rocks that approach the Earth in their orbit of the Sun.
NASA said: "Some asteroids and some comets follow orbital trajectories that bring them much closer to the Sun and therefore to Earth – than usual.
"If approaching a comet or an asteroid brings it to less than 1.3 astronomical units of the Sun, we call it an object close to the Earth."
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The QZ1 asteroid was observed for the first time in our system on August 20th.
Since then, a total of 12 observations have helped NASA calculate the size, velocity and orbit of the rock.
NASA estimates that asteroids measure between 187 and 426.5 feet (57 to 130 m) in diameter.
At the top of this estimate, the asteroid is higher than St. Paul's Cathedral and the Big Ben Bell Tower in London.
An object of this size could cause considerable damage if it hit the planet.
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Will the asteroid QZ1 reach the planet later tonight?
Fortunately, according to NASA calculations, there is no risk that the asteroid crushes on Earth at full speed tonight.
As close as possible, the asteroid will approach the planet at a distance of 0.03198 astronomical units.
A single astronomical unit is about 149.6 million km (93 million miles), which is the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
In other words, the asteroid will be missing tonight on more than 4.98 km (4.9 million miles).
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The distance is about 12.45 times the distance of the moon.
NASA stated: "When they gravitate around the Sun, objects close to the Earth can sometimes approach the Earth.
"Note that a" near "passage astronomically can be very far in human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometers."
After tonight's flyby, space rock should no longer approach the Earth.
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