NASA data shows that an object taller than the Burj Khalifa tower is about to pass by Earth next week.
Simulation of a large asteroid flying close to Earth. Image: Alexandr_Zhariko
An asteroid named 467460 (2006 JF42) has an estimated diameter of 370 – 840 m, larger than the world’s tallest building today, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (828 m). This object will fly closest to Earth at 8:13 am on May 10, Hanoi time, moving at a speed of about 40,716 km/h, according to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Research (CNEOS).
At its closest point to our planet, 2006 JF42 still flew more than 5.6 million km, more than 10 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Although there was no impact, 2006 JF42 is still classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA), due to its ability to fly close to Earth.
Asteroids in the PHA category can fly closer to Earth than 7.5 million km or larger than 150 m in diameter. 2006 JF42 regularly flies past the Earth due to its orbit around the Sun. According to orbital data, this asteroid grazes our planet every few years. On May 5, 2033, it will pass Earth at a distance of 3.4 million km.
Asteroids pass by Earth with many distances and sizes. CNEOS estimates that about 100 tons of space dust fall to the Earth’s surface every day. Asteroids 100 m in diameter hit the Earth with a probability of 1 in 10,000 years, causing a disaster on a local scale or tidal wave.
Researchers regularly monitor thousands of asteroids to protect the Earth and figure out how to prevent future collisions. Last year, NASA launched the Double Asteroid Deflection Test (DART) mission, which helps test technology to change asteroids’ flight paths through space.
An Khang (According to Newsweek)
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