A huge asteroid passes near Earth soon ... and "NASA" is reassured
The US Space Agency (NASA) said that a large asteroid will pass along planet Earth, Sunday, March 21
The agency assured that the "danger" of the asteroid colliding with the planet does not exist, as at its closest point, it will remain at a distance of more than five times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
However, it remains close enough to be classified as "potentially dangerous," according to the official categories.
This asteroid is called "2011 FO32", and its diameter is less than a kilometer, and it will pass at a speed of 124 thousand kilometers per hour, which is "faster than most asteroids" that pass near the Earth.
"Not much is known about this object at the moment, so its close passage gives us a great opportunity to learn a lot about it," said Lance Penner, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which affiliates it with the Near-Earth Objects Center.
Researchers will be able, for example, to get a better idea of the composition of the asteroid by studying the light reflected from its surface.
"It is assumed that astronomy enthusiasts in the southern hemisphere and at low northern latitudes will be able to see this asteroid using medium-sized telescopes," the center's director, Paul Chodas, said in a statement.
NASA assured that none of the known large asteroids will hit the Earth in the next century, and it is unlikely that they will do the ones that have not yet been discovered.