A A large asteroid is thought to have flown past planet Earth. So what is the impact on the earth?
Named 2008 GO20, the asteroid is estimated to be about 200 meters long, larger than a football field.
According to NASA forecasts, it will fly past Earth at a speed of 8.2 km per second and will be about 3-4 million kilometers from our planet. This is almost eight to nine times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
The last visit by GO20 2008 was on 20 June 2008, and is expected to pass again on 25 July 2034.
Here are the facts about the asteroid which is said to be potentially dangerous:
Is this a rare event?
Not. According to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, on July 21, six NEOs are expected to fly past Earth at a distance of less than 0.05 au. The asteroid Apophis won’t hit Earth for at least 100 years.
Following the GO20 2008 visit on July 24, NEOs named 2021 OF, 2020 BW12 and 2019 YM6 are expected to fly near Earth on July 26, July 27, and July 31.
