Series of 'near-Earth’ asteroids flying past Earth this week
According to asteroid monitors, at least 11 space rockets are slated to whizz past the Earth at varying distances between Wednesday and Sunday. The largest of the Near Earth Objects (NEOs) is believed to be up to 140 meters (160 feet) wide. Data released by NASA says three space bodies passed on Wednesday, while Saturday will see four zoom by the Earth.
Meanwhile, the largest of the incoming batch, an asteroid called 2019 SX5, is expected to pass on Thursday.
What are Near Earth Objects (NEOs)
NEOs are comets and asteroids whose orbits bring them relatively close to our planet. All of the 11 due to swing by in the coming days are expected to pass us safely.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), of the 600,000 known asteroids in our solar system, some 20,000 are NEOs and 800 are on the agency’s ‘risk list’ for observation.
A number of space agencies around the world monitor asteroids continually and are working on efforts to destroy or deflect any that could pose a serious threat to Earth.
NASA and the ESA are due to launch a joint mission in 2021 to ram a spacecraft into an asteroid to see how it can influence the rock’s trajectory.
Also Read | 20 new moons discovered at Saturn, beats Jupiter on moon count
Also Read | Centre of Milky Way exploded just over 3 million years ago: Study
