Technology today – An asteroid belonging to the “Apollo” group approaches Earth on January 13

In a day or two, asteroid 2020 WU5 will approach Earth, reaching a distance of 8 million km. The asteroid’s trajectory has been detected by NASA’s Jet Energy Laboratory, and astronomers believe this space object will not approach Earth at a dangerous distance, as its path away from Earth’s trajectory will be 8 million km. However, scientists have included it on the list of potential planets threatening Earth, because its diameter varies between 0.5 and 1.1 km. The asteroid was first discovered on November 29, 2020 by the NEOWISE Space Telescope, and then scientists included it on the electronic list of small space objects developed by the International Astronomical Union. The asteroid belongs to the group of asteroids called “Apollo” whose orbits intersect with the Earth’s orbit. It should be noted that the asteroid will approach Earth at a distance of approximately 8 million kilometers on the night of January 13 on January 14, when it can be observed in the northern hemisphere by a telescope from a lens diameter of more than 200 mm.

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