[ad_1]
As a battered and besieged planet approaches the 2020 finish line, the universe appears to be playing a dark joke on humanity by sending out five asteroids in two days, with a 2,700-foot space rock to follow a few more days. late.
The monster dubbed 2000 WO107, estimated to be up to 0.51 km in diameter, roughly the height of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, will visit Earth (cosmically speaking) at 10:09 a.m. GMT (5:09 a.m. ET). ) on Sunday, November 29.
The visitor will not stay long because, despite its enormous size, it travels 25.07 km per second – roughly the equivalent of 90,000 km / h. For reference, the average bullet is traveling at around 4,500 km / h. It will also not be visible to most Earthlings as it is set for what NASA considers a “close flyby” at a paltry 0.02876 astronomical units (AU) of Earth – or 2,673,409 miles.
NASA defines a near-Earth object (NEO) as any asteroid or comet that comes within 1.3 AU of Earth.
Also on rt.com
NASA flag FIVE asteroids en route TODAY, as scientists consider planetary defense mission against planet killer Apophis in 2029
In the meantime, there will be plenty of activity in our cosmic backyard, with five asteroids expected in the region on Monday and Tuesday alone.
On Monday, three space rocks, 2020 WN (9.5m in diameter), 2020 VW2 (14m) and 2020 WC (10m) will shoot past Earth at 1.6 million kilometers, 7 million kilometers and 1.6 million kilometers respectively.
The average distance between Earth and the Moon is around 385,000 km, but NASA considers all objects within a radius of 7.5 million km (19.5 times the distance from the Moon) to be monitored, in case anyone succumbs to a sudden course correction. .
Tuesday will see the 47-meter WJ16 2017 and 31-meter 2020 TJ8 pass the planet two million kilometers and 6.4 million kilometers, before the next round of space rocks rattle our planetary defenses.
NASA and other space agencies around the world keep a watchful eye 24/7, but there is a lot of sky to cover, so sometimes humanity misses those close-up flyovers, as it did. with another record-breaking close-up that took place this month.
Also on rt.com
Planetary defenses missed the flyby of an asteroid that came within 400 km of Earth on Friday the 13th
Do you like this story? Share it with a friend!
[ad_2]
Source link