Giant Asteroid 2020 AB2 to whizz past Earth alerts NASA
Thousands of such asteroids are present in space, which if hit the earth, can bring huge destruction. The first lunar eclipse of the year has brought trouble for the Earth. NASA has issued a warning about an asteroid growing rapidly towards Earth, which may prove to be a threat to the Earth. Scientists believe that if this asteroid collides with the Earth, it can cause a devastation.
The US space agency NASA (NASA) has detected this giant asteroid 2020 AB2 through the Asteroid Tracking System. This comet will pass close to the Earth on 12 January. The speed at which a comet is moving towards the Earth, if it hits the Earth, it can bring a terrible tsunami. However, NASA says that the asteroid will pass very close to the Earth.
This danger will whizz pass Earth at high speed, NASA scientists warn. Its speed can be gauged from the fact that it can complete the distance from London to New York in just 6 minutes.
Asteroid capable of 185 feet high Tsunami
NASA has also given information about the size and speed of this asteroid. This asteroid 49 feet (15 m) wide is roughly equivalent to a double-decker bus, and is three times longer than it. According to NASA, this asteroid is moving towards the Earth at a speed of 28,440 per hour. Its speed can be gauged from the fact that it can complete the distance from London to New York in just 6 minutes. A n asteroid hitting at this speed can bring a tsunami 185 feet high. For comparison, that the fastest man-made jet Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird could not travel from London to New York in an hour.
Even greater danger in future
Scientists say that the possibility of an even larger size asteroid hitting the earth cannot be ruled out in the future. However, the probability of this asteroid hitting the earth is very low. According to NASA, only one out of 3 lakh opportunities occur every year in which it is likely to collide. NASA fears that the asteroid that has the potential to destroy a country on Earth could collide within the next 120 years, in the year 2135.
Asteroid collided with Chelyabinsk in 2013
Comets or asteroids are part of our solar system, which are pieces of stone, dust, ice and gas. Most comets & asteroids are made up of ice, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, silicate, and organic mixtures. In 2013, a small body collided in Chelyabinsk, Russia causing a 66-foot deep crater. The collision occurred in the southern Ural region, causing injuries to around 1500 people and causing considerable damage to properties. This was such a fast event that people could not understand exactly what had happened.
