The asteroid measuring the size of a football stadium, 2020 XR, flew closest to Earth in history early on December 4.
2020 XR, a massive asteroid traveling at a speed of about 44,300 km/h, approached its closest distance to Earth at 2.2 million km at 12:27 AM (UTC) on December 4 (11:27 AM local time in Hanoi), according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Its flyby was streamed live by the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP).
Asteroid 2020 XR the size of a football stadium. (Photo: buradaki)
NASA classifies 2020 XR as a near-Earth object (NEO), meaning its orbit occasionally brings it within about 1.3 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, which is equivalent to 1.3 times the average distance from Earth to the Sun. Any NEO that comes within 7,500,000 km of Earth and has a diameter greater than 150 meters is considered a “potential threat.” However, the close encounter of 2020 XR on December 4 does not pose a threat to Earth.
“When astronomers first discovered 2020 XR, they believed there was a small chance it could collide with Earth in 2028,” said Juan Luis Cano, an expert at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Near-Earth Object Coordination Center. “But by examining older data for this asteroid, they could clearly determine its trajectory and rule out any risks.”
The asteroid 2020 XR has a diameter of 366 meters, large enough to wipe out a small city. Its last close approach to Earth was in December 1977. However, at that time, the minimum distance between it and Earth was 16 million km, much greater than today.
Experts predict that 2020 XR will not fly this close to Earth again until at least 2196. The next time 2020 XR passes near Earth will be in November 2028 at an estimated distance of 18.2 million km.
