NASA says bus-sized asteroid to zoom past the Earth’s surface today

 NASA says bus-sized asteroid to zoom past the Earth’s surface today

NASA has predicted that an all-new asteroid having a size of a bus is set to hurtle past the Earth today. The asteroid will zoom past the Earth’s surface from a distance of 22,000 km.

According to the combination of mathematical and scientific estimation, the heavenly body will come in the closest proximity to the Earth’s geostationary satellites’ orbit at a distance of 36,000 km. Scientists believe that it will rush past our planet safely, without entering the atmosphere.

The US-based space agency has named this new asteroid as ‘SW 2020’ which was discovered by the scientists on September 18 through NASA funded Catalina sky survey in Arizona. The CNEOS has claimed that it will be visible at around 7:12 AM ET (4:42 PM IST) from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean.

It should also be taken into reference, that barely after ten days, a ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid named ‘QL 2020’ rushed past the Earth on 14th September, this asteroid is the second such space object that would woo the astronomy enthusiasts.

In accordance with the scientific conclusions after consistent observation of SW 2020, scientists predict its size to be roughly around 15 feet to 30 feet. This, they claim could be possible on the basis of calibrating the brightness emanated from the asteroid. Once it zooms past the Earth’s trajectory, it will not return back till 2041, as astronomers claim on NASA’s website.

While, on the other hand, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is on a constant vigil to aim to find almost 90% of such near-earth objects which are larger than 460 feet in size and may pose an apparent danger to the planet while they pursue a considerable proximal path to the Earth.

What if such asteroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere?

As the American space agency has propounded that, if such heavenly rocky objects enter into Earth’s atmosphere, they may break up into several remnants and pieces, eventually catching fire and becoming a fireball. These fireballs may be visible across a larger area and are called Meteor leading to Meteor shower.