Get to know Asteroid 2013 BO76, a space rock the size of a stadium has passed through Earth

Writer: Arif Budianto

KONTAN.CO.ID – Get to know asteroid 2013 BO76, a stadium-sized space rock that briefly passed Earth. The asteroid with a diameter of about 140 meters reaches its closest distance of more than 13 times the Earth-Moon distance.

An asteroid the size of a stadium recently reached its closest approach to Earth (24/03/2022). As quoted from The Sun, this asteroid has passed Earth on March 24, 2022 at around 18:55 ET (Eastern time zone).

Asteroid 2013 BO76 is approaching Earth at its closest distance of about 5.1 million kilometers (Km). This distance is about more than 13 times the Earth-Moon distance.

This asteroid is hurtling at a speed of about 50,000 km per hour as it approaches Earth.

More than once, Newsweek reported that orbital predictions revealed the asteroid would not approach Earth again until 2193.

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Talking about asteroid 2013 BO76, NASA first discovered this space rock on January 17, 2013. At that time it was about 24 million km from Earth.

Due to its large size, which is about 450 meters, asteroid 2013 BO76 is categorized as potentially dangerous according to experts. Nevertheless, it will not harm the inhabitants of Earth, as it just passes through.

According to the Big Think website, a near-Earth object is considered a threat by astronomers if it is within 7.4 million km of the planet and has a diameter of at least 140 meters.

This asteroid is part of the asteroid Apollo, which is indeed close to Earth. Not much different from asteroids in general, 2013 BO76 was formed from the primordial solar nebula as a planetisimal fragment.

Also Read: Experts Reveal How Often This Celestial Body Appears, Meteor Row in 2022

It’s something in a young solar nebula that isn’t big enough to turn into a planet.

Until in the end, this celestial object just ends up as an asteroid.

Launching from the Science Times, NASA has tracked thousands of so-called near-Earth objects to provide early warning if they shift into a collision course with Earth. When the object approaches a distance of 4.56 miles, it will be considered “potentially dangerous” by space organizations around the world.