Wednesday, January 19, 2022
By
Web Desk

Giant asteroid will pass by Earth today: NASA

By
Web Desk
|
Representational image. — Dima Zel/Shutterstock/File
Representational image. — Dima Zel/Shutterstock/File

  • Giant asteroid — larger than Burj Khalifa — will pass by Earth today, says NASA.
  • According to astronomers, asteroid will not pose threat to Earth.
  • According to Pakistan standard time, the event will occur at 2:51am on January 19.


Nasa has stated that a giant asteroid — larger than any building on earth — will whiz past the earth today. 

The asteroid is called 7482 (1994 PC1) which measures more than a kilometre in width (approximately 3,450 feet). 

It is way taller than the Burj Khalifa, which measures 2,722 feet. For decades, astronomers have studied PC1 and according to them, it will not pose a threat to Earth, NASA's Asteroid Watch Twitter account said in a tweet, NDTV reported.

At its closest, the asteroid will still be five lunar distances, which is five times the moon's distance from Earth.

"Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will safely fly past our planet 1.2 million miles away," NASA tweeted.

The asteroid is travelling at a speed of around 45,000 miles per hour.  It will make its closest approach on January 18 at 4.51 pm EST. And according to the Pakistan Standard Time, the event would occur at 2:51 am on January 19.

The news of its arrival has created a huge buzz on social media as a lot of people are reminded of the recently-released Netflix film Don't Look Up, in which two scientists try to convince the United States government of the threat posed by a rapidly-approaching asteroid.