According to The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an asteroid the size of a school bus has been headed our way but it will zoom safely past Earth on September 24, 2020.
The scientists have informed that the newly discovered asteroid will come within 13,000 miles of Earth, however, it will be well-below many of the communications satellites that have been orbiting the planet.
The closest approach of the asteroid will occur on the morning of September 24 over the Southeastern Pacific Ocean. According to the Space Agency, now this asteroid will not be back to Earth’s neighbourhood until 2041.
2020 SW, discovered by @Catalina_sky, is about 15 to 30 ft. wide and will pass by Earth Thurs., Sept. 24, at a distance of about 13,000 miles (22,000 km). Tiny asteroids like 2020 SW approach Earth this closely several times every year and aren't a threat: https://t.co/xKWtzxLI7Q pic.twitter.com/FpkY77zibw
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) September 23, 2020
When was this asteroid discovered?
Asteroid 2020 SW, as it has been known, was discovered on September 18, 2020, by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona in Tuscan.
About the Asteroid:
Scientists have estimated that the asteroid is between 15 feet and 30 feet (4.5 metres to 9 metres) which is by asteroid standards extremely tiny.
According to Paul Chodas, director of the Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies at Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA has stated that the asteroids of this size hit Earth’s atmosphere and burn up once every year or two.
Is there any threat from the asteroids passing Earth?
According to the scientists, there could be as many as 100 million of these little asteroids out there but the real threat to Earth is considerably the bigger asteroids. The good news with them is that these are easier to spot much sooner than just a few days out.
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