An asteroid 3 to 6 m long passed "only" 2,950 km from Earth this Sunday. It is, according to NASA, the closest asteroid to have ever been observed passing near our planet.
If it had collided with Earth, the asteroid, dubbed 2020 HQ, likely wouldn't have done any damage. But its disintegration in the atmosphere would undoubtedly have created a fireball in the sky, a meteor, according to a statement from the US space agency published on Tuesday.
🌏 Space: An # asteroid the size of an SUV has passed 2,950 kilometers from #Earth, becoming the closest ever observed near the blue planet. (NASA via AFP) #Space #asteroid pic.twitter.com/F73Rtz509r
- Conflicts (@Conflits_FR) August 19, 2020Small pebbles that are difficult to spot
The pebble passed over the Indian Ocean at a speed of 12.3 km / s, at a distance well below the geostationary orbit (about 36,000 km) of most telecommunications satellites. The asteroid was actually spotted six hours after passing through the Zwick Transient Facility, a telescope located in California.
According to NASA, asteroids of this size graze the Earth at this distance a few times a year. But they are difficult to spot, unless they are heading directly for our planet, their explosion in the atmosphere then being noticed. NASA's mission is to spot the much larger asteroids (140 m) that really threaten the Earth with destruction, but its devices also monitor the smaller ones.
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