KONTAN.CO.ID – This is a giant asteroid as tall as the Burj Khalifa, which will pass Earth next month, in mid-December 2021 to be exact. The asteroid was successfully detected by NASA’s asteroid tracker one week ago.
NASA reports its latest findings, detecting a giant asteroid as tall as the Burj Khalifa that will pass Earth in December 2021.
Quote from Science Times, report from Jerusalem Post revealed, the asteroid called 163899 (2003 SD220) has a diameter of about 791 meters, with a length of almost half a mile or about 800 meters.
With this diameter and length, the asteroid 2003 SD220 almost resembles the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, which is the icon of Dubai City, United Arab Emirates, with a height of 828 meters to the top.
Observations made by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in 2015 showed the asteroid could be much larger, at least 2 kilometers long. Observers compared the asteroid to a sweet potato.
While NASA measures with different tools. The result is that it is approximately 1.6 kilometers long in the shape of a hippopotamus. However, current NASA estimates have put the asteroid at 791 meters in diameter.
Also Read: An asteroid the size of the Eiffel tower passes Earth in December 2021, dangerous?
Is this giant asteroid as tall as the Burj Khalifa building dangerous?
Still quoting from Science Times, The asteroid is predicted to fly past Earth on December 17 at a distance of approximately 5.4 million kilometers. The asteroid is known to be hurtling at a speed of 5.6 km per second.
Compared to the Earth-Moon distance of about 385,000 kilometers, the asteroid is categorized as potentially dangerous (potentially hazardous asteroid) or PHA according to the Rubin Observatory.
Due to its size and proximity to Earth, it may pose a threat to this planet inhabited by many living things.
NASA has in fact declared, Earth is safe from asteroid impacts, even for the next century.
The asteroid is considered to be “Aten class”. That is, it crosses the Earth’s orbit around the Sun’s orbit, even though it spends most of its side in it.
On the other hand, it is possible to hypothesize that an asteroid could one day strike Earth, although current estimates suggest that is not a cause for concern.
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