Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
NASA has issued an alert about an aeroplane-sized asteroid, 2024 NF, speeding towards Earth at 73,055 km/hr. This asteroid is the largest of several expected to come close to Earth in the next 8-9 days.
The 220-foot (67-meter) asteroid 2024 NF will make its closest approach to Earth on July 17, coming within three million miles of our planet.
According to NASA, only objects larger than 150 meters and closer than 4.6 million miles pose a danger. Asteroid 2024 NF, being 67 meters in size, will not cause any damage.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has identified four other asteroids approaching Earth in the coming days. None of these are expected to pose any harm due to their size and distance.
Asteroid 2024 BY15, measuring 47 feet, will approach Earth on July 16, coming within 3.85 million miles at its closest point.
On July 17, asteroid 2024 NJ3, which is only 47 feet in length, will pass extremely close to Earth at a distance of 762,000 miles.
Asteroid 2024 MG1, 55 meters in length, will fly close to Earth on July 21, coming within 2.64 million miles.
NASA monitors asteroids to protect Earth from potential impacts and to study their movements. Understanding asteroid trajectories helps scientists develop safety plans for future threats.
The DART mission aims to test methods for deflecting hazardous asteroids. Scientists recently struck an asteroid to study how it could be redirected, with the debris from the collision potentially impacting Mars.