Reported Express.co.uk, astronomers calculate that the distance of the asteroid is closer than the Moon to Earth on May 31, 2021 night. The asteroid approached Earth about 0.4 lunar distance (LDs). One LD is the distance between the Earth and the Moon, which is 384,000 kilometers.
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This means that 2021 KN2 is only 154,000 kilometers from Earth. The asteroid was traveling at 9.8 kilometers per second as it approached Earth.
With a speed of over 35,000 km per hour, Asteroid 2021 KN2 will be able to orbit Earth in about an hour. For reference, the Moon takes about 29 days to complete Earth’s orbit.
Fortunately, asteroid 2021 KN2 poses no threat to Earth. Not only does it pass a safe enough distance not to threaten, but it is also a small space rock.
Analysis from NASA reveals its diameter is only about seven meters. At that size, the asteroid would have burned up in the atmosphere had it received a gravitational pull toward Earth.
But the approach of asteroids like 2021 KN2 allows scientists to study space rocks.
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Asteroid Those that pass close to Earth, known as near-Earth objects (NEOs), provide NASA-like opportunities to view the history of the solar system.
NASA says on its JPL website: “NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been propelled by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter Earth’s environment.
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