Harianjogja.com, JAKARTA – The US space agency NASA warns that there will be at least five asteroids approaching Earth in January 2022 and one of them is the size of a large building.
The report was published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a research development laboratory federally funded by NASA and managed by the California Institute of Technology.
But all the asteroids that are expected this year will pass Earth a significant distance and are very unlikely to hit our planet.
Asteroids are rocky objects orbiting the Sun; they are smaller than planets but bigger than meteoroids.
Here are 5 asteroids that will approach Earth in January 2022, as reported by The Sun:
1. Asteroid 2021 YQ
The first of five asteroids that NASA has detected is named 2021 YQ.
The asteroid the size of a large commercial airplane (~200 feet) is expected to approach within 1,330,000 miles of Earth on January 5, 2022.
The last time 2021 YQ approached Earth’s orbit was on December 7, 1902.
2. Asteroid 2021 YX
Asteroid 2021 YX is also expected to approach Earth on January 5, 2022, although it will be slightly further away at a distance of 2,390,000 miles.
This rock is about 100 feet wide – about the size of a slightly smaller commercial airplane.
This asteroid has never approached Earth before, according to JPL records.
3. Asteroid 2014 YE15
This 24-foot-wide rock is expected to approach Earth on January 6, 2022, and is about the size of a bus.
Asteroid 2014 YE15 is expected to be the farthest, as its closest approach to Earth will be about 4,600,000 miles.
This isn’t the first time this asteroid has approached Earth, and it won’t be the last, with NASA records showing it has returned almost every year since at least 1905.
It will next approach Earth in May 2022.
4. Asteroid 2020 AP1
Asteroid 2020 AP1 will come closest to Earth at a distance of about 1,080,000 miles on January 7, 2022.
Although this asteroid will come closest to Earth, it is fortunately the smallest at 13 feet wide (the size of a car).
The last time AP1 2020 approached Earth was in January 2020.
It will return in January 2024.
5. Asteroid 2013 YD48
The NASA report concludes with the 2013 asteroid YD48, which is expected to approach Earth on January 11, 2022.
This massive rock is 340 feet high (London’s famous clock tower, Big Ben is about 315 feet high) and will be within 3,480,000 miles of Earth.
The last time this object approached Earth was in March 2014.
It is expected to return to Earth in 2030.
Source: JIBI/Bisnis.com
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