Asteroids approaching Earth always make headlines because a collision with one could result in a massive disaster for human life. Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, alerted about a plane-sized asteroid that is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today.
This celestial visitor named 2024 KN1, the size of an 88-foot aeroplane, is travelling at a speed of approximately 16,500 kilometres per hour. It belongs to the Amor group and will make its closest approach to Earth on June 23, 2024, at 11:39 PM IST.
However, there is nothing to worry about as NASA has classified it as non-threatening, emphasising that its trajectory will keep it at a safe distance from Earth, eliminating any risk of impact. It will pass safely at a distance of 5.6 million km.
Some 30,000 asteroids of all sizes -- including more than 850 larger than a kilometre wide -- have been catalogued in the vicinity of the Earth, earning them the label "Near Earth Objects" (NEOs). None of them threatens the Earth for the next 100 years. NASA also closely monitors a small subset of asteroids known as potentially hazardous asteroids, which have orbits that could bring them closer to Earth, posing a potential impact risk.
Notably, NASA's dashboard tracks asteroids and comets that will make relatively close approaches to Earth. The dashboard displays the date of the closest approach, approximate object diameter, relative size and distance from Earth for each encounter. It tracks asteroids that are within 7.5 million kilometres of Earth.
According to NASA, asteroids are left over from the formation of our solar system. Not all asteroids are the same size and shape. Because asteroids are formed in different locations at different distances from the sun, no two asteroids are alike. Asteroids aren't all around like planets and have jagged and irregular shapes. Most asteroids are made of different kinds of rocks, but some have clays or metals, such as nickel and iron.
