HUGE 110-foot wide asteroid to approach the Earth today, says NASA; Strike chance looming?

On Tuesday, October 11, NASA will hold a briefing to give an update on the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) conducted last month. The briefing will reveal important information around the damage done by the DART impactor and the amount by which the path of the asteroid Dimorphos was altered. And this information cannot come any sooner as the Earth keeps a wary eye on massive asteroids flying by every day. Today itself (October 9), a massive 110-foot wide asteroid is set to make a dangerously close approach to our planet. If it somehow deflects and heads towards the Earth, there could be a huge disaster. So, how likely is the chance of an asteroid strike? Read on to find out.

Huge asteroid headed for the Earth today

NASA reports on the asteroid have given us significant information on what to expect. The asteroid is named 2022 SV11 and it was first spotted on September 24 of this year, as per Small-Body database. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) website tells us that the asteroid is going to come as close as 4 million kilometers to the Earth. While this might seem like a huge distance to some, the Center for Near Earth Objects Studies (CNEOS) data might shock you. According to them, the asteroid is traveling at a mind-numbing speed of 15,768 kilometers per hour! At this speed it will take the asteroid mere days if not hours to reach the Earth if it gets trapped by our planet’s gravitational pull. And that is a big problem.

However, the current NASA prediction states that the asteroid will likely make a safe passage across the planet. Yet, for precautionary reasons, the asteroid is being monitored by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) telescope. This tech marvel is a space telescope that has been tasked with monitoring all nearby space rocks in the inner circle of the solar system.

All eyes will be on the NASA DART briefings on Tuesday as the threat of asteroids is a perpetual issue that cannot be left to chance. If the NASA test demonstrates successful deflection by impacting an asteroid, this might become a viable way to prevent any future asteroid strikes.