The asteroid is expected to pass through Earth safely.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — This weekend, two asteroids the size of a skyscraper were hurtling toward Earth. One will make the closest approach on Friday, 29 July, and the other will pass on Saturday (30/7/2022).
Quoted from Live Science, The American Space Agency (NASA) predicts that the first asteroid, 2016 CZ31, will arrive at a speed of 55,618 km/h on Friday around 7 p.m. ET (23:00 GMT).
The asteroid, which is about the size of a 40-story skyscraper, is estimated to be 122 meters wide. The asteroid will pass about 2.8 million km from Earth, or more than seven times the distance between Earth and the moon. Asteroids safely avoid our planet. The next close encounter of this space rock with Earth is expected in January 2028.
Meanwhile, a second, larger asteroid will pass Earth on Saturday, although it will be farther away. At its widest visible point, asteroid 2013 CU83 measures approximately 183 m. This asteroid will pass at a distance of 6.9 million km or nearly 18 times the typical distance between Earth and the moon.
At 7:37 p.m. ET Saturday, or Sunday at 6:37 a.m. WIB, this enormous space rock will approach the planet at 13,153 mph (21,168 km/h).
Thousands of these near-Earth objects are closely monitored by NASA and other space agencies. There is a very small chance that the asteroid’s orbit could change slightly after coming into contact with the gravity of a larger object, such as a planet.
Scientists are currently anticipating an asteroid and Earth collision. NASA has a Dual Asteroid Diversion (DART) test mission that deflects the asteroid to prevent it from colliding with Earth. The mission will launch in November 2021 and will hit the 525-foot-wide (160 m) asteroid Dimorphos in the fall of 2022.
The asteroid will not be destroyed by the collision, but the orbital route of the space rock may change somewhat. If an asteroid threatens the world in the future, the mission will help test the effectiveness of the asteroid’s deflection.
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