NASA warns of asteroid hurtling towards Earth at scary speed

NASA's latest asteroid warning is about a space rock named 2023 KU that is hurtling towards Earth at a speed of 64,000 kilometres per hour. The 370-foot asteroid belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and is about the size of a 35-story building. It will reach Earth on April 11 at 9:05 pm IST, flying at a speed of 64,827 km/hr.

However, NASA says that it does not pose any threat to the planet and will fly by at a safe distance of 1 million kilometres.

Asteroids from the Apollo group are near-Earth objects that cross our planet's orbit. Scientists have discovered a total of 21,083 Apollo asteroids to date, making the class the largest group of near-Earth objects.

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The Apollo group of asteroids are named after a space rock, 1862 Apollo, that was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. This was the first known object belonging to this group, and so the entire group was named after it. After being first seen in 1932, it was lost for over 40 years and was not seen again until 1973.

NASA's program to study asteroids

Astronomers will keep a watch on any asteroids that might cause any type of destruction. This is part of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which looks at all near-Earth objects and measures their orbits.

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It prepares comprehensive impact hazard assessments for the space agency’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

This is how astronomers learned about the two asteroids that made headlines in the past few months. First was Apophis, an asteroid feared to strike Earth in 2029.

Next came the "city-killer" asteroid 2024 YR4, which gave researchers sleepless nights for days after it was revealed that it was on a collision course with Earth. The impact was gauged to happen in 2032. Thankfully, calculations showed that it will narrowly miss the planet.

However, now it looks set to hit the Moon, and NASA thinks there is a high chance that this will happen. "While an Earth impact by 2024 YR4 on December 22, 2032, has now been ruled out, it continues to have a non-zero probability of impacting the Moon at this time," researchers said in a report.