HUGE ASTEROID TO PASS EARTH THURSDAY MAY BE OVER 2,500 FEET WIDE
On Thursday, Earth will be visited by a massive
asteroid with a width that could be as great as double the height of the Empire
State Building, but it won't be alone and its companion is even more tremendous
in size.
The asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33) with an
estimated size of between around 1,150 and 2,560 feet will speed past Earth at
23,264 miles per hour on Thursday. But, just a few days after this, another
asteroid, potentially even larger will also pass our planet.
This asteroid, designated 467460 (2006 JF42)
which will make its closest approach on May 9, 2022, has an estimated size of
between 1,247 and 2,822 feet. That means that potentially it could be as wide
as two and a half Empire State Buildings.
This second asteroid won't just potentially top
418135 (2008 AG33) in size, however. It will also whip past our planet more
rapidly, traveling at around 25,277 mph. To put that velocity into perspective,
it is twelve and a half times faster than a bullet fired by a rifle, 17 times
as fast as a jet fighter, and 1,000 times as fast as Usain Bolt.
There is one category in which 418135 (2008
AG33) has 467460 (2006 JF42) beaten. The April 28 visit to our region of the
solar system will see this asteroid come within about two million miles of
Earth. During its visit in May, 467460 (2006 JF42) will remain around 3.5
million miles from our planet.
Using NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at
California Institute of Technology's Small-Body Database Lookup it is possible
to track where these objects are in relation to Earth.
This image taken from the Small-Body Database
Lookup, shows where 418135 (2008 AG33) is in relation to earth at the time of
writing.
Also using the Small-Body Database Lookup it's possible to see 467460 (2006 JF42) in relation to Earth on Monday, April 25.
Winding forward on the Small-Body Database Lookup we can see where the asteroids have moved to as of May 9, with 467460 (2006 JF42) now closest to Earth (left) and 418135 (2008 AG33) (right) having moved away.
It won't be long before both of these space
rocks pay a return visit to our sector of space and to Earth in particular.
Asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33), which was first
discovered in 2008, hence that number in its name, is estimated to have last
paid a close visit to Earth on March 1, 2015. It will return to Earth on May
25, 2029, following which 418135 (2008 AG33) won't return to Earth's vicinity
until February 9, 2045.
Asteroid 467460 (2006 JF42) will be back sooner
than this, returning to Earth on May 11, 2023. Making a return visit roughly
once a year with the occasional four-year break, 467460 (2006 JF42) will come
remarkably close to Earth on May 4, 2159, passing within just 686,013 miles of
our planet.
I also read that the asteroid is a massive 450-meters wide space rock, which can be compared to the famous Golden Gate Bridge located in San Francisco, US. The asteroid is expected to make its closest approach to the Earth at a distance of 3,240,000 kilometers.