Science

Asteroid alert: A 459ft space rock will skim Earth tonight at 48,800mph – Will it hit?


The speedy , dubbed by NASA 2019 SX5, will fly by on a “Close Approach” trajectory. ’s asteroid trackers expect SX5 to appear close to Earth just after midnight on October 11. At its closest, NASA said the space rock will arrive around 12.07am BST on Friday.

What do we know about NASA’s Asteroid 2019 SX5?

The imposing asteroid was first spotted flying around the inner solar system on September 6, 2019.

Based on 36 observations, NASA has calculated SX5’s speed, size and orbit.

NASA has dubbed the rocky body a Near-Earth Object or NEO.

NEOs are all comets and asteroids that come close to Earth on their journeys around the Sun.

READ MORE:

NASA said: “An NEO includes any asteroid, meteoroid or comet orbiting the Sun within 18,600,000 miles (30 million km) of Earth’s orbit.”

Asteroid SX5 is also an Apollo-type rock, meaning it crosses Earth’s orbit on a path similar to Asteroid 1862 Apollo.

NASA estimates the space rock measures somewhere in the range of 203ft to 459ft (62m to 140m) across.

At the upper end of NASA’s scale, the asteroid is comparable in size to the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

The asteroid is also about as tall as Blackpoll Tower in England and is nearly 17 times wider than a London doubledecker bus is long. 

A NASA report drafted for the White House in 2018 states space rocks this big could wipe out entire regions.

At the lower end of NASA’s estimate, the space rock is comparable in size to the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Approximately seven-and-a-half London buses could fit inside of SX5.

Tonight, the space rock will approach the planet at speeds of around 21.84km per second or 48,854mph (78,624kph).

After the asteroid swings by Earth, the SX5 will make a close approach of Venus in September 2025.

Then, the asteroid will visit Earth’s corner of space again in May 2043.

Will the Asteroid 2019 SX5 hit the planet tonight?

Thankfully, there is no need for NASA to sound the alarm bells just yet.

The asteroid will make a close approach but on the cosmic scale, it will still be millions of miles away.

At its closest, NASA said SX5 will approach Earth from 0.04533 astronomical units (au).

One astronomical unit equals the distance from Earth to the Sun – 93 million miles (149.6 million km).

In other words, Asteroid SX5 will miss Earth by 4.2 million miles (6.7 million km).

NASA said: “As they orbit the Sun, Near-Earth Objects can occasionally approach close to Earth.

“Note that a ‘close’ passage astronomically can be very far away in human terms” millions or even tens of millions of kilometres.”

Quick facts about asteroids and comets:

1. NASA estimates a football field-size asteroid collides with our planet once every 2,000 years or so.

2. A car-sized asteroid hits the Earth on average at least once a year.

3. Some of the bigger space rocks in the Asteroid Belt can be as large as 583 miles across.

4. As icy comets fly around the solar system, their outer layers sublimate in the Sun’s heat and leave behind a glowing trail.

5. A meteor that survives the fiery descent through Earth’s atmosphere is known as a meteorite.



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.