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NASA may have updated its plan to protect the planet from asteroid attacks, but a van-sized space rock flew over the planet at a distance of around 1,830 miles on Sunday, the closest ever recorded.
And the space agency only saw it after it happened.
The asteroid, known as 2020 QG (formerly ZTF0DxQ), hovered over Earth towards the sun, according to Business Insider, which first reported the news. The media quoted a tweet from amateur astronomer Tony Dunn.
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“The newly discovered asteroid ZTF0DxQ exceeded less than 1/4 in diameter from Earth yesterday, making it the closest known flyover that has not hit our planet,” wrote Dunn, who is also the creator from orbitsimulator.com.
The object was detected about six hours after flying over Earth’s southern hemisphere at a speed of 27,600 mph, Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, told the newspaper. “We didn’t see it coming.”
2020 HQ is considered a near-Earth object (NEO) given its proximity to Earth. However, given its size (between 6 feet and 18 feet wide), it is not considered a “potentially dangerous” near-Earth object and would likely have detached into the atmosphere.
The size of the object was estimated by the Sormano Astronomical Observatory.
“Potentially dangerous” near-Earth objects are defined as objects in space that are within 0.05 astronomical units and measure over 460 feet in diameter, according to NASA. According to a 2018 report by Planetary.org, there are over 18,000 NEOs.
Fox News has contacted NASA with a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time in recent memory that NASA has missed a NEO similar to 2020 HQ. In February, Dutch researchers discovered 11 “potentially dangerous objects” that are not on NASA’s list of “potentially dangerous” near-Earth objects, using advanced artificial intelligence.
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NASA unveiled a 20-page plan in 2018 that details the steps the United States should take to better prepare for near-Earth objects, such as asteroids and comets that are within 30 million kilometers of the planet. .
A recent study showed that Americans prefer a space program that focuses on the potential impacts of asteroids rather than sending humans back to the Moon or Mars.
In April 2019, NASA awarded a $ 69 million contract to SpaceX, the space exploration company led by Elon Musk, to help it deflect asteroids through its DART mission.
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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in April 2019 that an asteroid attack was not to be taken lightly and was perhaps the greatest threat to Earth.
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