[ad_1]
The fast asteroid is trapped in a so-called near Earth approach path, which means it's incredibly approaching our planet. NASA expects the space stone, christened Asteroid 2019 KH1, to pass on Sunday, June 2, in the morning. The close shave will take place around 9:10 pm UK time or 4:10 pm Eastern time. When this happens, the asteroid KH1 will reach a speed of 18.52 km per second or 41,628 km / h.
The asteroid KH1 is an Apollo-type space stone belonging to a family of objects named after the 1862 Apollo asteroid.
Apollo asteroids whistle in the inner circles of the solar system without escaping from the asteroid belt located between Jupiter and Mars.
According to the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, Apollo asteroids are known for their often striking planets.
The university explained: "They are smaller than 10 km and make up the majority of the population of asteroids that cross the Earth and present a potential hazard."
READ MORE: How often do asteroids hit Earth?
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, estimates that KH1 measurements are between 22 and 49 m in diameter.
When a smaller rock of 20 meters exploded above the Chelyabinsk Oblast (Russia) in 2013, more than 7,000 buildings were damaged in the air.
Fortunately, NASA does not expect that the asteroid KH1 will get close enough this weekend to sound the alarm bell.
Even at its closest, the asteroid will miss Earth by about 0.02722 astronomical unit (AU).
READ MORE: Watch a major asteroid DESTROY Earth in crash simulation
A single astronomical unit measures the distance between the Sun and the Earth, which is about 149 million kilometers.
The asteroid KH1 will travel the Earth from a safe distance of 4.07 million kilometers.
However, on the cosmic scale of distances, it is always an incredibly close encounter with the rogue object.
NASA stated: "When they gravitate around the Sun, objects close to the Earth can sometimes approach the Earth.
READ MORE: NASA highlights a bold asteroid defense plan
"Note that a" near "passage astronomically can be very far in human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometers."
After KH1 has passed our planet on Sunday, the asteroid will perform three more closer approaches in the future.
The next approach will take place on the morning of May 24, 2065.
After that, space rock will fly again on June 14, 2141 and December 4, 2144.
[ad_2]
Source link