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The asteroid, baptized 2019 OK, swept our planet on July 25th, but the rock was not spotted until it was closed on Earth. NASA then confirmed that the asteroid was traveling the planet from a dangerously close distance of just 40,400 miles, one-fifth of its distance from the moon. A similar surprise in 2013 resulted in the creation of a malignant space space among more than 1,000 people with exploded glass shards in Russia. BuzzFeed's internal NASA emails reveal that the US Space Agency was completely unprepared by 2019 OK.
A NASA employee admitted that "this one trapped us" as he was flying over the Earth at a speed of 23 km per second or 52,568 mph.
Global Defense Officer Lindley Johnson briefed NASA on the close approach on 24 July, 24 hours before the arrival of the asteroid.
In his internal memo, he wrote, "Since there may be media coverage tomorrow, I warn you that in about 30 minutes, an asteroid measuring 57 to 130 meters will pass the Earth at only 0.19 kilometers. lunar (~ 48,000 miles). spotted about 24 hours ago. "
Paul Chodas, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote later in an email that the asteroid had slipped through the net.
READ MORE: How often do asteroids hit Earth? What is the danger
Measuring between 57 and 130 m in diameter, the asteroid was detected by the Australian Observatory for Research on Near-Earth Asteroids in Brazil.
Mr. Chodas said, "This object has slipped through a series of our capture nets.
"I wonder how often this situation has occurred without the asteroid being discovered."
A few weeks after the world approached the cataclysm, NASA confirmed that the rock was powerful enough to annihilate an entire city.
READ MORE: There is a small chance that an asteroid of 2,700 MEGATON hits Earth in October
In a press release issued August 6, the US Space Agency 2019 OK was the largest asteroid to have passed this level close to the Earth in a century.
The size of the asteroid has been compared to that of a football field.
According to the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies, the asteroid has been forgotten due to various deplorable factors.
First, the rock came from an orbit that the Earth's telescopes do not fully observe.
Secondly, the movement of the asteroid was not visible enough against a background of glittering stars to reveal its approach.
READ MORE: An expert reveals that the Earth is experiencing a "near-accident" of "month to month"
Mr. Chodas said, "An asteroid of this size approaching the Earth is a fairly rare event, about twice a century.
"And the impact of an asteroid of this size is still rare, on average in the order of once every thousand years."
Fortunately, NASA confirmed that the July flyby was the closest moment for which the asteroid would come to Earth for another 200 years.
This approach, however, has highlighted the need for better ground and space detection systems.
An expert in space recently told Express.co.uk that NASA's efforts to protect the Earth were "interesting" but not sufficient.
Quick Facts About Asteroids, Comets and Meteors:
1. Some of the largest space rocks in the asteroid belt can have a width of 583 miles.
2. NASA estimates that an asteroid the size of a football field collides with our planet about every 2,000 years.
3. An asteroid the size of a car hits the Earth on average at least once a year.
4. A meteor that survives the fiery descent of the earth's atmosphere is called a meteorite.
5. As icy comets fly around the solar system, their outer layers sublimate in the heat of the Sun and leave behind a glowing trail.
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