Aasteroid with a diameter of 300-800 meters is heading towards the Earth: Is it dangerous?

June 1, 2023  20:02

AN asteroid named 1994 XD with a diameter of 300-800 meters is approaching the Earth, which is classified as a "potentially dangerous" asteroid due to its size. But there is no need to worry: as stated by the press service of the Moscow planetarium, it does not pose any danger to our planet.

The asteroid will pass by the Earth on June 12 at 04:53 Yerevan time. It is traveling at a speed of 21 kilometers per second and will approach the Earth at a distance of about 3.16 million kilometers. This distance is almost eight times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

The Moscow Planetarium explained that an object is considered potentially dangerous if it crosses the Earth's orbit at a distance of less than 7.5 million km, and the diameter of the object exceeds 100-150 meters.

Asteroid 1994 XD completes one orbit around the Sun in 1313 Earth days and travels a maximum distance of 609 million km from the Sun and approaches 93 million km.

Recently, the cameras at Cairns Airport in Queensland, Australia captured how a meteor exploded in the sky, lighting up the night sky with bright green light. The meteorite, up to 1 meter in size, was traveling at speeds of up to 150,000 km/h.

Another case of falling of a meteor took place on the night of February 13 of this year, when a meteor discovered hours before it exploded in the direction of the English Channel, parts of which fell into the English Channel. Although the meteorite was small, it could still damage buildings or people if it fell in a densely populated area. Scientists consider that meteorites with a diameter of more than 100-140 meters pose a potential threat to our planet. 


 
 
 
 
  • Archive