Harianjogja.com, JAKARTA – An asteroid slid past Earth on Tuesday (1/6/2021). In total, seven asteroids are expected to pass by Earth this weekend.
The largest asteroid named 2021 KT1 is about the size of the Seattle Space Needle and taller than the Washington Monument. But scientists believe that its size is comparable to the size of the Chrysler Building in New York.
The asteroid is classified by NASA as a “potentially hazardous object” because it is a near-Earth object and passes within 4.6 million miles of Earth.
For reference, the average distance between Earth and the moon is about 239,000 miles. According to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2021 KT1 comes within 4.5 million miles of Earth, a relatively close encounter. It flew past about 40,000 miles per hour. But there is no possibility of the asteroid hitting Earth.
However, researchers are tracking all asteroids that approach the planet and are currently looking for ways to deflect asteroids that could make future contact. Six other asteroids, essentially waste rock more than four billion years old, also passed Earth this week. However, all of them are smaller than the 2021 KT1.
They come within 181,000 miles and 694,000 miles of Earth, respectively. Meanwhile, the 2021 JW6 type will pass on Wednesday, along with the 2021 KE1. They will come within about 1.9 million miles and 3.6 million miles of Earth, respectively. Thursday and Saturday bring more asteroids.
Most asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter, but occasionally, their orbital paths are affected by the gravitational pull of other planets, which changes their paths. Scientists believe past wild asteroids colliding with Earth played a major role in the evolution of the planet.
Source: JIBI/Bisnis Indonesia
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