Bridge-sized asteroid will come close to Earth today, warns NASA
What's the story
A massive bridge-sized asteroid, dubbed VB 1993, will make a close approach to Earth today (February 21).
According to NASA, the space rock measures 1,500 feet in size and is already on its way to Earth.
The space agency's planetary system is closely tracking the asteroid. Fortunately, is not expected to cause any harm.
Here are more details.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Asteroids zooming past our home planet are not uncommon. However, they do serve as potential threats to our home planet-their impact ranges from altering the climate to wiping out an entire species.
Given the recent advances in planetary defense, especially the success of the DART mission, there might not be a need to worry about looming space rocks anymore.
Asteroid
Asteroid VB 1993 belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids
Asteroid VB 1993 was discovered on November 6, 1993, by McNaught, R. H. at Siding Spring, Australia.
It is set to make its closest approach to Earth at 6.5 million kilometers.
It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids, also known as Earth-crossing asteroids, which cross within the orbit of the Earth. Apollo is one of three groups of near-Earth asteroids.
Asteroid
Another asteroid, named 2023 DF, will also cross us today
Asteroid 2023 DF is also set to approach Earth today. It will come as close as 1.6 million kilometers.
It is worth noting that there is no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size that holds a chance of impacting Earth for the next 100 years,
However, about 40% of those asteroids have been found to date.
DART mission
DART was the world's first planetary defense technology demonstration
Talking about the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, it was the world's first demonstration of planetary defense technology.
The DART spacecraft rammed into its target, a 520-foot-long asteroid called Dimorphos, and successfully altered its path.
The orbital period taken by Dimorphos to orbit its parent asteroid-Didymos was shortened by 32 minutes, from 11 hours and 55 minutes to 11 hours and 23 minutes.
Information
Unknown NEOs have caused disasters before
However, unknown NEOs (Near-Earth Objects) have caused disasters in the past. In 2013, a house-sized asteroid exploded just 22 kilometers above the ground in Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring over 1,600 people. The impact of the explosion generated energy equivalent to around 440,000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT).