Truck-sized asteroid passes by Earth in one of the closest encounters ever
Asteroid, of delivery truck size, to pass near Earth as NASA confirms not dangereous.
In one of the closest encounters ever recorded, a delivery-truck size asteroid passed by Earth coming as close as a tenth of the distance of the orbit of communication satellites. Known as 2023 BU, it flew over the southern tip of South America just before 00:30 am GMT.
With a closest approach of 3,600 km (2,200 miles), it was too close for comfort.
ALSO READ |In a few hours, 1,600-ft wide asteroid will come close to Earth, say scientists
The passing of an asteroid would be a near miss but will not get any chance to hit the Earth, said NASA. The scientists said that even if the asteroid came closer to the earth, the atmosphere would burn most of it and the bigger pieces may fall on earth as meteorites.
The impact hazard assessment system of NASA, called Scout, ruled out any strike quickly, its developer Davide Farnocchia said, who is also an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California of the agency.
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
“But despite the very few observations, it was nonetheless able to predict that the asteroid would make an extraordinarily close approach with Earth. In fact, this is one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded,” he added.
The asteroid, which was discovered on Saturday, is also called 2023 BU, and is estimated to be between 11ft (3.5m) and 28ft (8.5m) across.
WATCH | September 26: NASA is all set to clobber an asteroid with spacecraft dart
Crimea's amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov had first spotted it, who had also discovered an interstellar comet in 2019.
In a few days, astronomers across the world made dozens of observations which allowed them to redefine the path of the asteroid. As it will pass, the asteroid's path will be altered drastically by the gravity of the Earth.
According to NASA, the asteroid instead of circling around the sun every 359 days, will remain for 425 days in an oval orbit.
(With inputs from agencies)
You cannow write for wionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE