Huge Asteroid to Pass Earth Thursday May Be Over 2500 Feet Wide
On Thursday, Earth will be visited by a massive asteroid with a width
that could be as great as double the height of the Empire State
Building, but it won't be alone and its companion is even more
tremendous in size.
The asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33) with an estimated size of between
around 1,150 and 2,560 feet will speed past Earth at 23,264 miles per
hour on Thursday. But, just a few days after this, another asteroid,
potentially even larger will also pass our planet
(
https://bit.ly/3F6BnLr).
This asteroid, designated 467460 (2006 JF42) which will make its
closest approach on May 9, 2022, has an estimated size of between
1247 and 2822 feet. That means that potentially it could be as wide
as two and a half Empire State Buildings.
This second asteroid won't just potentially top 418135 (2008 AG33)
in size, however. It will also whip past our planet more rapidly,
traveling at around 25277 mph. To put that velocity into perspective,
it is twelve and a half times faster than a bullet fired by a rifle,
17 times as fast as a jet fighter, and 1,000 times as fast as Usain
Bolt.
There is one category in which 418135 (2008 AG33) has 467460
(2006 JF42) beaten. The April 28 visit to our region of the solar
system will see this asteroid come within about two million miles
of Earth. During its visit in May, 467460 (2006 JF42) will remain
around 3.5 million miles from our planet.
Using NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute:
https://www.newsweek.com/topic/nasa
of Technology's Small-Body Database Lookup it is possible to
track where these objects are in relation to Earth.
Also using the Small-Body Database Lookup it's possible to see
467460 (2006 JF42) in relation to Earth on Monday, April 25.
NASA's Small-Body Database Lookup shows where asteroid
418135 (2008 AG33) is in relation to Earth on April 25.
Winding forward on the Small-Body Database Lookup we can see
where the asteroids have moved to as of May 9, with 467460
(2006 JF42) now closest to Earth (left) and 418135 (2008 AG33)
(right) having moved away.
467460 (2006 JF42) and 418135 (2008 AG33
Winding forward on the Small-Body Database Lookup we can see
where the asteroids have moved to as of May 9, with 467460
(2006 JF42) now closest to Earth (left) and 418135 (2008 AG33)
(right) having moved away. It won't be long before both of these
space rocks pay a return visit to our sector of space and to Earth
in particular.
