TRIBUNNEWS.COM – NASA on Thursday (11/3/2021) revealed that a large asteroid will pass Earth on March 21, 2021.
The asteroid, named 2001 F032, will approach within about two million kilometers.
According to the Space Agency United States of America (USA), astronomers are expected to be able to observe the asteroid closely.
NASA explained, the asteroid 3,000 feet or one kilometer in diameter was discovered approximately 20 years ago.
“We know the 2001 FO32 orbital path around the Sun with great accuracy,” said Center for Near Earth Object Study Director Paul Chodas.
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“There is no chance the asteroid will be closer to Earth from a distance of 1.25 million miles (two million kilometers), “he said.
Quoting France24, two million kilometers is about 5.25 times the distance of the Earth from the Moon.
However, it is still close enough for 2001 FO32 to be classified as a “potentially dangerous asteroid.”
NASA says 2001 FO32 will pass at a speed of 77,000 miles per hour faster than the speed of most impacting asteroids Earth.
“Currently, little is known about this object, so the very close encounters provide a tremendous opportunity to learn a lot about this asteroid,” said Lance Benner, principal scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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