A giant asteroid It will be at its closest point to Earth soon, scientists estimate, but does it mean any danger to us?
Known as Planet Killer, asteroid 415029 (2011 UL21) is about the same size as Mount Everest. The highest mountain in the world measures 8,849 meters high, almost 9 kilometers!
Due to its size and the proximity it will reach to Earth, science has classified it as a potentially dangerous asteroid, which could generate effects if it collides with us.
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This asteroid is the largest that has passed by the planet in the last 15 years. It will pass almost 4 million miles from Earth (about 6.6 million kilometers) next June 27, 2024, week on NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The asteroid will pass exactly close to Earth at 5:48:19 (UTC) 13:48:19 Mexico time.
From Earth, the asteroid will be seen with telescopes between the June 28 and 29, when it is brightest due to the sun’s rays.
“This asteroid is larger than 99 percent of all known near-Earth objects”the European Space Agency noted in a report.
“However, it won’t get that close to Earth. At its closest point, on June 27, it will still be more than 17 times farther away than the Moon.”he added.
This space body will approach Earth again until 2089 and will reach a distance of 1.7 million miles from the planet.
The nickname of Planet Killer It is not literal. Astronomers have named it as a way of measuring its dangerousness if it were to collide with the Earth.
As he says LiveScience, this asteroid can cause continental scale damage If it were to collide with the Earth in the future, it would also cause climate changes significant due to the debris that would be unleashed after the crash.
