Most parts of the world witnessed a total lunar eclipse at the beginning of this month and will see a massive asteroid passing the planet on May 27. The asteroid is potentially dangerous and nearly 2 km wide as it approaches Earth from deep space.
Asteroid 1989 JA will come close to earth on May 27 as it will be just 40,24,182 km away from the planet. The asteroid is said to travel at an astonishing speed of 47,232 km per hour at the time of its closest Earth approach. Due to the proximity during the flyby, the asteroid has been declared potentially dangerous.
This asteroid is very similar to the Chelyabinsk asteroid that fell into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2013, damaging six Russian cities. However, scientists believe that asteroid 1989 JA will safely pass Earth without causing any damage. The space rock will be closest to Earth on May 27 and will remain so for another 200 years.
Asteroids can be defined as rocky fragments left behind in the formation of the solar system. An asteroid gets termed as a nearby object when its distance from our planet is not more than 1.3 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.
A Livestream of the Asteroid will be streamed by The Virtual Telescope Project in Rome as the space rock comes closer to earth.
You can watch the Livestream here:
138971 (2001 CB21) was the last huge asteroid that came close to earth on March 4, which was 1.3 kilometres wide and came as close as 49,11,298 kilometres to Earth.
Also Read | Did NASA find a mysterious doorway on Mars?
