NASA Confirms A Truck-Sized Asteroid Will Zoom Past Earth. Details Inside!

by Ananya Singh
NASA Confirms A Truck-Sized Asteroid Will Zoom Past Earth. Details Inside!

Is it time to sing Aerosmith yet? Well, an asteroid will pass relatively close to the earth. The delivery-truck-sized asteroid won’t strike us, ‘swears’ NASA. But it will be one of the most intimate contacts ever captured on camera. The southernmost point of South America will be 3600 kilometres above the surface of the asteroid 2023 BU. Contrary to what we’ve seen in films like “Armageddon,” there was no need for a global nuclear weapon to blow it up or veer it off track. Read more to find out all about this truck-sized asteroid!

All About The Truck-Sized Asteroid

NASA Confirms A Truck-Sized Asteroid Will Zoom Past Earth. Details Inside!
Image Credits: Unsplash

 The estimated width of BU is between 3.5 and 8.5 metres, which was found on the third Saturday of 2023. As with the discovery of the interstellar comet in 2019, Gennady Borisov, an aspiring astronomer in Crimea, was the first to observe it. Astronomers worldwide made many observations over a few days, enabling them to fine-tune the asteroid’s orbit. Once the asteroid flies by, the earth’s gravity will significantly alter its course. According to NASA, it will transition to an oval orbit with a 425-day duration rather than revolving around the sun every 359 days.

Will The Asteroid Hit Earth?

NASA Confirms A Truck-Sized Asteroid Will Zoom Past Earth. Details Inside!
Image Credits: Unsplash

At 7.27 pm. US Eastern Time on Thursday, scientists recently discovered the asteroid. According to Nasa, it will pass 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometres) above the southernmost point of South America (12.27 am GMT, 11.27 am AEDT on Friday). But there would be no danger of it striking earth, according to NASA. But, according to scientists, it would scorch up in the atmosphere even if it were much closer, with larger fragments perhaps falling as meteorites.

This is one of the known near-earth object’s closest approaches ever observed. Though NASA swiftly ruled out 2023 BU as an impactor. But even if the calculation had been wrong, scientists believe humanity would still have survived. Asteroid 2023 BU is too small to cause much damage. However, it would have mostly burned up as it hurtled through the atmosphere. It is due to its size, barely 3.5 to 8.5 metres (11 to 28 feet) in diameter.

According to NASA’s number crunchers, the close encounter will have a longer-lasting effect on the asteroid itself. A few meteorites that did make it to the ground have been modest rather than the city-destroying, tsunami-producing monsters of “Deep Impact.” According to NASA’s math experts, the close call will have a longer-lasting effect on the asteroid itself. 

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Cover Image Courtesy: Unsplash