NASA said two large asteroids estimated to be larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza passed through Earth on January 23 and 25, respectively.
According to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Objects Research (CNEOS), the first asteroid to fly over Earth is called 2020 PP on the evening of January 23.
2020 PP, the asteroid that is currently approaching the vicinity of Earth is just one of many space rocks that normally fly over the planet. But what makes this near-Earth asteroid so interesting is its vast diameter.
While the size of most of the asteroids that fly over Earth generally ranges from 20 to 40 meters. The asteroid is about the size of the Empire Building, around 370 meters in diameter. The distance between 2020 PP and our planet is 7 million km, or about 18 times the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, at a speed of 30,094 km / h.
However, astronomers say that is not the reason for the alarm.
The second asteroid, 468727 (2010 JE87) will arrive two days later. Experts estimate that 2010 JE87 is 430 meters in diameter, closest to Earth at a distance of 6 million km, about 15 times the distance between the planet and the Moon, traveling at a speed of 53,752 km / h, more fast Sound speed about 45 times.
The two asteroids above are classified in the group of objects flying close to Earth because their flight path around the Sun is only 48 million km from Earth’s orbit.
According to Paul Chodas, director of CNEOS at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, certain objects flying close to Earth are considered “ dangerous ” if their orbit approaches Earth at around 7.4 million kilometers or less, 19 times the distance of the Moon and a size greater than 140 meters.
Currently, scientists have identified 25,000 asteroids flying close to Earth, over 90% of which are over a kilometer in diameter. In particular, the US Aerospace Agency, NASA, is speeding up exploration for asteroids containing enormous amounts of gold sufficient to turn people on Earth into billionaires. Psyche-16 located in the area between Mars and Jupiter contains large amounts of gold and many precious metals with an estimated value of up to 10,000 million USD. However, this NASA research is purely for scientific research purposes, will not be for mining or trying to make money with the asteroid.
