An asteroid the size of a stadium is set to pass relatively close to Earth on Saturday.<\/p>\n
If there was any catastrophic event we were missing in 2020, its a giant asteroid hurtling towards us.<\/p>\n
NASA has advised that while the 335-metre mass is near enough to make their close approach list, it will still miss us by a landslide about 5.1 million kilometres to be exact.<\/p>\n
The asteroid, named 2002 NN4 (the runner-up in Elon Musk and Grimes baby name list), is said to be bigger than 90 per cent of asteroids and could have devastating effects if it entered Earths orbit.<\/p>\n
But we can breathe a sigh of relief, because despite travelling at more than 32,000 kilometres per hour, 2002 NN4 will still be more than 13 times further away from us than the Moon.<\/p>\n
Ian J. ONeill, of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the asteroid was too far away to worry.<\/p>\n
In short, 2002 NN4 is a very well-known asteroid with a known orbit that will pass Earth at a (very) safe distance Dr ONeill said.<\/p>\n
Along with 2002 NN4, there are another four asteroids on their way over, but they are significantly smaller.<\/p>\n
One is roughly the size of a house while the remaining three are the size of an aeroplane.<\/p>\n
NASA has also blessed star-gazers with an Asteroid Watch Widget, which tracks asteroids and comets as they approach Earth.<\/p>\n
Users will be able to find out the date of the closest approach, name and size of the asteroid and its distance from Earth.<\/p>\n
Despite fitting in well with the chaos this year has brought, 2002 NN4 will be so far away sky-gazers will still need a telescope to see it.<\/p>\n
But what would happen if it came any closer?<\/p>\n
Scientists from all over the world met in 2019 to discuss how to respond if a disastrously large asteroid actually was headed for Earth.<\/p>\n
Dr Lori Glaze, director of planetary science at NASA, said that literally saving the world wouldnt be too hard.<\/p>\n
All we have to do is change its speed a little faster or a little slower so that when it crosses Earths orbit, it crosses either in front of us or behind us, Dr Glaze said.<\/p>\n
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Comet me, bro: A giant asteroid will pass relatively close to Earth - The New Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An asteroid the size of a stadium is set to pass relatively close to Earth on Saturday. Continue reading