(ORDO NEWS) — The largest asteroid recorded this year is flying to Earth. Its diameter may be more than a kilometer, therefore, experts consider this celestial body a potentially dangerous object, which, in the event of a collision, will cause a global catastrophe.
The asteroid is called 2016 AJ193 and it will approach Earth at a minimum distance on August 21 at 6 pm. This is reported by in-space.
The asteroid was discovered 11 years ago. The celestial body belongs to the Apollo group. Experts believe that its diameter reaches 1.37 kilometers. At the end of August, the asteroid will cross the Earth’s orbit at a distance that will not exceed 3.43 million kilometers. In this case, the speed of its flight will be approximately 26 kilometers per second.
Experts call potentially dangerous asteroids those objects whose diameter exceeds 140 meters, and the distance to our planet is less than 7.5 kilometers.
Such celestial bodies are under the close supervision of specialists, because at any moment the trajectory of their flight can radically change. Asteroid 2016 AJ193 fits the above parameters. The next time a celestial body approaches the Earth in August 2080. The distance will already be 7 million kilometers.
Asteroids of different sizes fly across the space near our planet several times a day, but there are actually not so many real giants. In November, we should expect the huge celestial body Orpheus 1982 HR. In December, two asteroids will approach the Earth – Nereus 1982 DB, as well as 2003 SD220.
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