NASA warns that a giant asteroid will pass near Earth on Friday: “Potentially dangerous”

A giant asteroid with a diameter of about two kilometers, four times the size of the Empire State Building, will approach Earth next Friday, May 27..

However, NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is trying to send a “calm” message: despite the fact that the asteroid has been classified as “potentially dangerous”, due to its massive size it can cause catastrophic damage to the Earth. Earth , The space rock will approach 4 million kilometers from here, which is ten times the distance between the Earth and the Moonso it will be a great opportunity for scientists to learn about these approaching objects and for astronomers to enjoy a unique sight.

Named 7335 (1989 JA), it is the largest asteroid that will approach Earth this year.Scientists estimate that It travels at a speed of 76,000 km / h, ahead of 47,200 meters per second, about 20 times faster than a bullet. This asteroid is one of more than 29,000 near-Earth objects, identified by scientists as near-Earth objects, that NASA tracks each year. NEOs are any space body that passes through one of the 48 million kilometers belonging to Earth’s orbit. Most of these are very small, they may be a few meters or even centimeters, however, 7335 (1989 JA) is the exception due to its large size.

7335 (1989 JA) is also an Apollo-type asteroid, the space rock that orbits the Sun while periodically transiting Earth’s orbit. Astronomers know about 15,000 asteroids of this type and have calculated the path they will take for many of them. for example, The next time this rock gets close is likely to be on June 23, 2055, and it will travel much farther: about 70 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.

In fact, NASA is also closely following many other asteroids that have a greater potential to collide with us, such as Bennu, an asteroid with a diameter of about 500 meters that will approach our planet closely on September 24, 2182. Or (29075) 1950 DA, another asteroid with a diameter Between 1 and 2 km, which had a very close encounter on March 16, 2880 worries astronomers somewhat.

In a worst-case scenario, with a massive boulder slamming into the ground, there is still hope. Different space agencies have proposed different plans to save Earth. For example, NASA’s DART mission will collide with a spacecraft in the Didymos asteroid system to see how much it deviates from such objects. For its part, China has proposed sending several of its massive Long March V missiles to alter the course of Bennu himself. And other plans will remain, such as crushing the asteroid “in extreme temperatures” so that a harmless and controllable “rain” of rock falls on Earth.

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