Potentially hazardous asteroid twice the size of Taj Mahal to buzz past Earth this Diwali
A 'potentially hazardous' asteroid, called 2020 ST1, will be buzzing past Earth on Diwali at an estimated speed of 28,646 km per hour.
Washington, November 13, 2020: Two asteroids are heading towards Earth and one of them is twice the size of the Taj Mahal which will be buzzing past the planet on Diwali. These asteroids are Asteroid 2020 TB9 and Asteroid 2020 ST1.
According to a report, Nasa has described Asteroid 2020 ST1 as a “potentially hazardous” asteroid that will be zooming past Earth on November 14.Nasa’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) said Asteroid 2020 ST1, which has a size of 175 meters, will be zipping past Earth at an estimated speed of 28,646 km per hour.
What are potentially hazardous asteroids? Potentially hazardous asteroids are currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid’s potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth.
Asteroid 2020 TB9 has a size of 30 meters. For a clearer picture, it is the length of an average aircraft. It will fly at a speed of 21,600 kilometers per hour (kmph).
Asteroid 2020 VL1 and Asteroid 2019 VL5 will also be zooming past Earth on November 13 and 15, respectively. Asteroid 2020 VL1 is thrice the size of the distance between Earth and the moon.
