NASA astronomers report that a gigantic asteroid is approaching Earth. Object 418135 (2008 AG33) will approach the Earth at a distance of 3.2 million km on Thursday (April 28). The asteroid was classified as ‘potentially dangerous’. Scientists reassure, however, that the Earth is not in danger of colliding with it. The distance from the closest point to our planet will be about eight times greater than the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The subject moves ten times faster than a bullet fired from a pistol. Its size is also impressive. Asteroid 418135 has a diameter of up to 780 meters and is almost twice as large as the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, which for many years was the tallest building in Poland. The incoming space rock was discovered on January 12, 2008 by scientists at the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter in Arizona, USA. According to NASA’s Near Earth Research Center (CNEOS), the last time this asteroid flew past the Earth on March 1, 2015. 418135 (2008 AG33) passes close to our planet approximately every seven years. Its next rapprochement is scheduled for May 25, 2029. Interestingly, the asteroid is not the largest cosmic rock that will flit past Earth in the coming weeks. This title will probably go to 467,460 (2006 JF42), the diameter of which is estimated at 380-860 m. It will be near the Earth on May 9, 2022 and will be moving at a speed of about 40,700 km / h.
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