Asteroid 2022 UU1 will cross Earth today; no harm likely
Asteroids appear to be in the best of moods lately. Just yesterday, a space rock whizzed past us and now another celestial object is headed our way. An asteroid dubbed 2022 UU1 will cross Earth today (October 26) at 4:52 pm (IST). The space rock will pass by us at a distance of 4.16 million km and is predicted not to cause any harm.
Why does this story matter?
This month has been extremely interesting for space enthusiasts. In addition to fascinating events like the Orionid meteor shower and the partial solar eclipse, asteroids have also been in the picture. These space rocks are making news of late, owing to their menacing speed and proximity to our planet. Even a minor deviation from their path can have a devastating impact.
The asteroid was first spotted on October 18
The 2022 UU1 was discovered on October 18. It belongs to the Amor group of asteroids and measures roughly 72 feet (22-meter) in size. It falls under the category of Near-Earth Objects (NEO) since the asteroid will approach Earth at a distance of 4.16 million km. The space rock will hurtle past our planet with a velocity of 7.19km/s or 25,884km/h.
The duration of one orbit around the Sun is 1,372 days
The asteroid 2022 UU1 takes about 1,372 days to complete one orbit around the Sun. Its farthest point from the star, or aphelion, is 571 million km while the closest point to the fiery body, or perihelion, is 152 million km.
CNEOS has kept a record on the asteroid
According to spaceweather.com, 2022 UU1 will cross Earth at a distance of 4.16 million km today. The data on the rock is recorded by NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). The agency claims that it does not pose any threat. In order to get reliable information, the data is only collected when the close-approach time of space objects lies within 10 days.
