On September 6, a 68-foot-wide asteroid is scheduled to pass Earth, according to NASA's asteroid tracker. The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory cautions that it is approaching the Earth 10 times faster than a NATO rifle bullet.
The asteroid known as QC7 is equivalent to the size of the Boeing 767's wing span.
As reported first by Interesting Engineering, the asteroid QC7 is traveling toward Earth at a speed of about 9.10 kilometers per hour despite being smaller than other asteroids.
(Photo : Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - SEPTEMBER 8: In this handout photo provided by NASA, The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft lifts off on from Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Will It Make a Big Impact on Earth?
NASA claims that the chances of the QC7 making a big impact on Earth are as slim as a snowball's chances of surviving in hell. Hence, there is nothing to worry about since the asteroid is 4.6 million kilometers far from our planet.
The fact that even if the QC7 reached the Earth, it wouldn't have a significant impact, according to NASA. The QC7 could only make the atmosphere enter with a massive explosion that would be extremely noisy.
However, our galaxy contains an asteroid named "Bennu" that, if it collides with Earth, might be dangerous because it is tall as the Empire State Building and has a surface akin to a plastic ball.
The closest meteorite to Earth, Bennu, will only be precisely predicted during the next 200 years, according to scientists. However, if Bennu collides with Earth, the consequences of the impact are certain.
Read Also: 'Stadium-Sized Asteroid' Is Barreling Toward The Earth At 20 Miles Per Second on Thursday
Planetary Defense System
NASA and other space organizations have put in a lot of effort to alter the course of asteroids, particularly large ones that are expected to strike the Earth in the future and have the potential to do significant harm. They chose to visit the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) project realization for that reason.
Hence, they launched the DART project as Earth's planetary defense system.
Numerous NASA offices and laboratories provided technical assistance for the project, which was funded by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
At 7:14 p.m. on Sept. 26, The DART spacecraft will strike the asteroid Dimorphos at a speed of about 15,000 mph (24,000 kph) to change the celestial body's orbit around the larger asteroid Didymos at 23:14 EDT (23:14 GMT).
Despite not being on a collision trajectory with Earth, Dimorphos is being sent to test if "kinetic impact technology" can divert any possible asteroids that may be headed that way.
Related Article: Asteroid 2019 OK: Scientists Reveal Why It Was Undetected Before, Hid on Earth's Blind Spot?
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
