NASA announces the approach of a dangerous asteroid to Earth
(ORDO NEWS) — NASA scientists have warned that a potentially dangerous asteroid will approach Earth on June 6. Its size is larger than the size of the blue whale.
The asteroid has been named 2021 GT2. It was recorded by scientists just last year. The space body is one of the near-Earth asteroids Aton. To date, only 1800 such objects are known and most of them pose a serious threat to our planet.
2021 GT2 orbits the Sun much faster than the Earth. It takes only 342 days for one complete rotation. In addition, the asteroid crosses the orbit of our planet during its movement.
The approximate size of the cosmic body is 37-83 meters. The object will fly at a distance of only 3.5 million kilometers at a speed of about 26 thousand kilometers per hour.
If we take into account the distance that experts predict, then it is almost 10 times greater than the distance between the Earth and the Moon. That is why the risk of a collision with a space body is minimal.
On June 6, 2022, 2021 GT2 will fly much closer to our planet than during the next approach, which will happen at the end of January 2034. The next time the asteroid will fly at a distance that will exceed the mark of 14.5 million kilometers.
Scientists include among the near-Earth asteroids those space objects that revolve around the Sun at a distance of no more than 194.5 million kilometers.
To make it more clear, the distance from our planet to the Sun does not exceed 149.5 million kilometers. NASA employees regularly monitor how asteroids move in near-Earth space.
In addition, they are trying to determine as accurately as possible whether there is any threat to the Earth.
The Aton group includes the cosmic body Apophis, whose diameter exceeds 300 meters. Previously, some scientists believed that a catastrophic collision with the Earth could occur in 2029, but after a more detailed study of the flight path, it became clear that, despite the close passage to our planet, there would be no collision.
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