An unnamed asteroid is hurtling towards Earth at a speed of 76,000 km/h, which is 20 times faster than a bullet.
According to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), a massive asteroid measuring four times the size of the Empire State Building in the United States will approach Earth on May 27. NASA reports that 7335 (1989 JA) is larger than approximately 99% of the other objects they have observed.
Asteroid 7335 (1989 JA), four times the size of the Empire State Building, will approach Earth on May 27, 2022 (Illustrative image).
It is predicted that the asteroid designated 7335 (1989 JA) will come within about 4 million kilometers of our planet, which is ten times the average distance between Earth and the Moon.
Despite its enormous size, the space rock is still classified by NASA as “potentially hazardous”, meaning it could cause significant damage to our planet if its orbit unexpectedly changes and it impacts Earth.
NASA also states that 7335 (1989 JA) is the largest asteroid that will approach Earth this year. Scientists estimate that this asteroid is traveling at a speed of approximately 76,000 km/h, which is more than 20 times the speed of a bullet.
NASA’s Dart spacecraft will crash into an asteroid in an effort to change its trajectory (Photo: NASA).
This asteroid is one of more than 29,000 near-Earth objects that NASA observes each year. By convention, any astronomical object that crosses within 30 million miles (approximately 48 million km) of Earth’s orbit is included on the list. However, most of these objects are extremely small.
While NASA continuously monitors extraterrestrial objects, they have also initiated a mission to use a spacecraft to deflect asteroids from their paths, to eliminate concerns about future collisions with Earth.
Specifically, in November 2021, NASA launched a spacecraft as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which is set to collide head-on with the asteroid Dimorphos, approximately 160 meters in width, this fall. If all goes well, the impact will not destroy the asteroid but will slightly alter its orbit.
