Our planet will get a close visit from two massive space objects this December. The asteroid, dubbed 310442, was identified by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on its NEO close encounter tracker. The gigantic asteroid is thought to reach dimensions of about 600 meters, big enough to annihilate an entire city. Space object 310442 it will get close to Earth at an estimated distance of 3.6 million miles. Such a fact it actually represents only a minute in cosmic terms. Moreover, the asteroid is running at a tremendous speed rate of 27,500mph.
Asteroid 2162578 2006 WH1, on the other hand, is the most recent space object identified after its fellow 310442 was announced. The cosmic feature reaches similar dimensions, traveling at approximately 26,843mph, and it is believed to realize its 3.7 million mile travel somewhere close to December 20. NASA estimated the 540 meters asteroid is the same size as the World Trade Center, and it would cause significant disaster.
Killer Asteroid is Rushing Towards Earth, NASA Warns
It is known that there is a large number of various objects in outer space that could harm Earth. An asteroid reaches its final form when its structure of metal or rock, is fully completed. As its structure is defined, the asteroid increases its power of traveling. A comet, on the other hand, is made of ice and gas. They become meteors when they hit Eart, and the objects which arrive on Earth without burning up are known as meteorites.
New research showed catastrophe producing asteroids, crash the Earth much more often than previously thought. The study involved Wolfe Creek Crater in Australia, which is considered to be the second-biggest impact crater on our planet. The researchers discovered the cosmic crash happened more recently than thought. Also, they declared the hole was made when a 15 meter-wide meteorite weighing 14,000 tonnes crashed into the surface at 17km/s.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.