Astronomers have discovered a large asteroid the size of a car, which came closest to Earth at 1:28:42 AM on April 12, according to Hanoi time, at a distance of 18,700 km.
Orbit of asteroid 2024 GJ2. (Photo: NASA).
Asteroid 2024 GJ2 is the size of a car. After discovering the object three days ago, astronomers calculated that it would fly close to Earth at a distance of 19,300 km on April 11, which is only 3% of the distance between Earth and the Moon. 2024 GJ2 measures between 2.5 to 5 meters, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). This means the asteroid would burn up in Earth’s atmosphere if its orbit directly intersected with the planet, according to Space.
The next close flyby of 2024 GJ2 is set for 2093, according to ESA’s Near Earth Object Coordination Center. When that happens, it will not come as close to Earth as it did this time. Instead, the distance will be ten times further, at 205,947 km, which is half the distance from Earth to the Moon.
Asteroids are small celestial bodies that orbit the Sun. NASA estimates there are 1,113,527 asteroids in the Solar System, with nearly 35,000 of them classified as near-Earth asteroids. They orbit the Sun and are concentrated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, due to their relatively small size, asteroids are easily influenced by gravity and have orbits that can intersect with those of the planets, according to Jay Tate, director of the Spaceguard Observatory in the UK. Most asteroids range in size from 10 meters to 529 kilometers.
