ILLUSTRATION. An asteroid the size of the Eiffel tower passes Earth in December 2021.
Writer: Arif Budianto
KONTAN.CO.ID – An asteroid the size of the Eiffel tower flies towards Earth in December 2021. The good news is that the asteroid poses no threat or risk because it is about 2.5 million miles away.
Not long ago, the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed, an asteroid the size of the Eiffel tower will fly toward Earth. Named 4660 Nereus, this asteroid will come closest to Earth on December 11, 2021.
Even so, scientists say, the asteroid poses no threat and risk to planet Earth because it is about 2.5 million miles away.
The asteroid has a diameter of 1,082 feet or about 330 meters, almost the same as the Eiffel Tower’s height of 1,063 feet or about 324 meters.
Quote from Fox13news, scientists say, most near-Earth objects (NEOs) pose no risk at all.
However, NASA plans to launch another mission to test whether humans can change the orbit of an asteroid that could potentially be toward or close to Earth.
This is not the first time an asteroid has approached Earth. Large asteroids of various sizes have been coming and going near Earth over the past few weeks, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory report.
Ranging from the size of a car, house, commercial jet, to the Empire State Building.
Last month, another large asteroid also briefly approached Earth, although only passing by. Four large asteroids passed Earth on October 19, ranging from 318,000 miles to 2.9 million miles from our planet.
Speaking of asteroids, last October a NASA spacecraft named Lucy rocketed on a 12-year quest to explore eight asteroids.
Seven of the mysterious space rocks are among the asteroid swarms that share orbits with Jupiter.
Also Read: The partial lunar eclipse on November 18-19, 2021 will be the longest in this century
These asteroids are also considered to be pure remnants of planet formation.
Lucy’s name is taken from the 3.2 million-year-old skeletal remains of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia nearly half a century ago. The invention gets its name from the 1967 Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
In fact, NASA sent the spacecraft soaring with the band’s lyrics and words of wisdom on a plaque.
The spacecraft also carried discs made of diamonds planted in the laboratory for one of its science instruments.
Regarding asteroids, in general the mysterious rock approaching Earth does not mean it will crash. Some of them just pass by following the orbit of the asteroid itself.
