NASA announced that a 16-foot-wide rock known as 2021 GT2 would pass by the Earth Monday (June 6). According to the space agency, the asteroid flies toward the planet at a speed of 26,000 kilometers per hour.
The space rock was predicted to be between 121 and 272 feet wide, roughly three times the size of a blue whale.
The cosmic object has not been identified as a possible hazard to Earth. That is because of its fly-by distance of more than 2 million miles - almost ten times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
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How NASA Found Asteroid 2021 GT2
Asteroid 2021 GT2 was found on April 4, 2021, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) last detected it on June 5, 2021.
The asteroid is categorized as an Aten-class asteroid, meaning it orbits the Sun closer than the Earth. Daily Star mentioned that the asteroid 2021 GT2 made its appearance at around 12:35 a.m. ET.
The orbital period of revolution around the Sun of this class of asteroids, still known as Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs), is less than a year, or around every 342 days.
According to Live Science, once the asteroid passes by, the next near approach of 2021 GT2 to Earth will be on January 26, 2034, at a distance of 9 million miles (14.5 million kilometers), which is substantially greater than the current approach.
Asteroids, sometimes known as "minor planet," are relics from the creation of our solar system, which occurred 4.6 billion years ago.
According to NASA's Solar System Exploration webpage, the current and current asteroid count is 1,113,527.
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2021 GT2 is only one of several "ancient space rubble" objects circling the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
The asteroid belt is an area of space that contains a large number of celestial rocks of various sizes and forms.
According to NASA, the asteroid belt's total mass is still less than that of the Moon, which is far too tiny to be classified as a planet.
Asteroid Detection
NASA is now experimenting with smashing a rocket into a huge asteroid to see if it can be thrown off track.
In November of last year, the space agency launched an asteroid-deflecting spacecraft.
In the fall of 2022, this spacecraft will collide with the 530-foot-wide Dimorphos asteroid.
The asteroid will not be destroyed, but NASA wants to investigate if its orbit may vary significantly.
NASA said on May 31 that it would undertake a planetary defense drill using Apophis as a model for a simulated collision based on a real-world asteroid attack scenario.
The gathering drew over 100 attendees from 18 nations, including NASA experts.
NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) and the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) collaborated on the experiment.
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