NASA is leaning on a huge space rock that is three times the size of a blue whale and is about to pass over the Earth.
NASA is leaning on a huge space rock that is three times the size of a blue whale and is about to pass over the Earth.
The 2021 GT2 asteroid is passing close enough to reach NASA’s near-Earth approach tables.The sun reports.
The space agency estimates that the asteroid is between 36 and 82 meters wide.
In comparison, the average blue whale is about 21 meters long.
An asteroid of this size would cause serious damage if it hit the Earth.
Although NASA marked the space rock as a close approach, the asteroid 2021 GT2 is ready to pass through Earth at a safe threshold of 3.5 million km.
If an asteroid is 7.4 million km from Earth and exceeds a certain size, prudent space agencies consider it “potentially dangerous.”
The 2021 GT2 asteroid conforms to this NASA guideline.
The huge asteroid is expected to pass on June 6.
The closest approach is expected around 5:35 BST or 12:35 ET.
The asteroid is expected to have another approach close in 2034. It will pass 14 million km, which is significantly farther than next week’s orbit.
How NASA protects against asteroids
Scientists want to prepare if an asteroid suddenly changes its trajectory, Live Science reported.
NASA is testing whether or not a large asteroid could be deflected by a rocket crashing into it.
The space agency recently launched an asteroid-deflecting spacecraft in November last year.
This spacecraft will hit the 161-meter-wide asteroid Dimorphos sometime in 2022.
NASA will not destroy the asteroid, but they want to see if the orbit of the space rock will change slightly.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission