NASA tracked one asteroid enough to wipe out civilization this year

NASA has been tracking more than 1,400 asteroids by 2020, including one large enough to wipe out civilization.

The Space Agency’s Center for Near Earth Object examines rocks that could take them 1.3 astronomical units from the sun, or 45 million kilometers from Earth, which is close in space terms.

In April 2020, asteroid 52768, the most viewed, was classified as a potentially dangerous asteroid (PHA). Measuring between 1.8 km and 4.1 km in diameter, it could even be up to five times larger than the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

While this particular asteroid will not produce the end of days soon, this is not something NASA has ruled out in the future.

Viously, obviously, it would be pretty short-sighted given the vastness of the universe and the sheer number of things floating around.

NASA discovers about 30 new near-Earth objects (NEOs) each week and has launched sightings on more than 19,000 objects since early 2019.

But no matter how hard they try, they can’t detect them all, which means an unexpected impact can’t be ruled out.

The whole event was broadcast online by scientists from the Rome Virtual Telescope Project and showed the moment when the giant celestial stone piled up in front of our planet in August.

Gian Masi, who was the host of the live broadcast, said: “We know where the asteroid is because we know its orbit. And that same orbit makes it possible for us to say ‘it won’t impact us.’

While the telescope images are not exactly the highest quality images, you can clearly distinguish the asteroid heading through a starry sky.

Another asteroid made a “near-Earth approach” on September 8th. The 37-meter-long NEO (object near the Earth), known as the 2020 PT4, passed the Earth and the Moon at a distance of just over a million kilometers. the context of the space is definitely considered “close”.

The space rock, which is about the length of two trucks, advanced at a speed of about 12.56 kilometers per second (28,090 miles per hour).

However, NASA has assured us that if the 2020 PT4 ever collided with Earth, its relatively small size (in space terms) means it would probably disintegrate into the atmosphere, causing minimal damage to our planet.

The asteroid, called 2020 HQ, flew inside about 2,950 km (1,830 miles) from Earth, extremely close in terms of asteroids.

In fact, according to asteroid trackers and a catalog compiled by Sormano Astronomical Observatory in Italy, is the closest ever recorded.