Astronomers discovered it only a few days ago.
An asteroid the size of a bus will fly incredibly close to Earth July 7. According to Science Alert, it will pass at a distance of only 90 thousand kilometers from the planet, which is only 23% of the distance to the Moon. And until a few days ago, no one knew that it was approaching us.
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According to the calculations of the Laboratory of Jet Propulsion According to NASA, the asteroid, designated 2022 NF, does not pose any threat to the planet. The celestial body was discovered thanks to the Pan-STARRS telescope system located in Hawaii. The main goal of the project is to detect near-Earth objects.
Astronomers spotted the asteroid on July 4 and calculated its estimated size and trajectory. According to calculations, its diameter is 5.5 – 12.5 meters.
Due to its modest size, the asteroid does not meet NASA's criteria for “potentially dangerous” celestial bodies. To enter this category, an asteroid must be at least 140 meters in diameter and must pass closer than 7.5 kilometers from Earth.
Although 2022 NF will come much closer, it is too small enough to pose a serious threat to the planet.
Astronomers observe thousands of near-Earth objects. They are considered a potential threat very rarely, but they can cause damage to Earth if their trajectory changes dramatically.
In November, NASA launched the DART spacecraft, which is supposed to crash into the satellite of asteroid Dimorpha and change its trajectory. However, simulations conducted by scientists showed that this collision may not happen exactly as expected.
