Forget Santa, someone is writing a letter to Bruce Willis! A massive Christmas Day asteroid crosses into Earth at 22,000 mph.
It is the most wonderful time of the year … or, it would be, if it were not for the current pandemic, the general unhappiness of 2020 and the paralysis of fear that has been ruminating almost all year.
Christmas will be a little different this time. We will all have to make changes to our usual, probably hectic parties. Smaller houses, waving outside houses instead of hugs. Oh, to sweeten the nuts, there’s also a ginormous asteroid directing us.
It’s wild above the atmosphere, up there in the great unknown, with asteroids flying toward Earth at fast speeds and bullet-chasing. It happens all the time, although it would be a great cause for concern if someone runs the risk of colliding directly with the Earth, most take off in front of us. Sometimes meteorites fall to the surface, but they rarely cause significant damage.
We expect several asteroids until Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, a small asteroid will pass at a distance of 733,288 miles away.
However, as we open our gifts and treat ourselves to chocolate and perhaps enjoy a little slip, a powerful rock will open its way beyond our planet.
Asteroid 501647 (2014 SD224), wonderfully titled, will pass through Earth on December 25 at 8.20pm EST, around 1.20am GMT. It has a diameter of 92-210 m, so it could be taller than the Seattle space needle.
He currently travels at over 22,000 mph. For reference, this is more than 10 times faster than a .50 caliber bullet, 16 times faster than Concorde and 791 times faster than Usain Bolt crossing the sky.
Unfortunately for the stars, don’t expect to see 501647 flying over the clouds like Santa’s sleigh on Christmas day. It won’t be visible from Earth, so don’t worry about closing your eyes, falling asleep, and losing anything.
You would probably be more likely to see Santa when he finishes delivering, as the asteroid is 1,877,410 miles from us.
The only Deep impact we have to worry about this Christmas being the emotional turmoil that exists on Earth.