130-Foot Asteroid Approaching Earth at Savage Speed Over the Weekend

A huge space rock will be approaching our planet closely over the weekend. The asteroid travels at a ferocious speed, but a collision is unlikely.

Asteroid 2023 JL2 Is Approaching Earth

NASA and ESA have been monitoring near-Earth objects (NEO) and have observed approximately 3,000 new NEOs each year. Thus, asteroids making a flyby of Earth is not new at all.

However, they monitored one on a trajectory toward our planet. It is expected to make a close approach to Earth on Saturday, Hindustan Times reported.

Asteroid 2023 JL2 travels toward Earth at 33,666 kilometers per hour. It will make its closest approach at 5.9 million kilometers on Saturday.

The outlet noted that the asteroid's size is concerning because NASA estimated it would be about 130 feet, almost as big as an aircraft. According to the outlet, the space rock belongs to the Apollo group of NEOs, which have semi-major axes larger than our planet.

It's not the lone asteroid that will be making a flyby on Saturday, per NASA. Bus-sized asteroid 2023 HG11 will also be making its close approach on the same day.

It is smaller than JL2, with an approximate size of 23 feet. It will make its closest approach at 4.5 million kilometers.

Two more bus-sized asteroids will be approaching Earth on Sunday - 2023 JD4 and 2023 JK7. Both are estimated to have a diameter of 120 feet. The first is estimated to be closest to Earth at 3.1 million kilometers, while the 2023 JK7 will be closer to 1.6 million kilometers.

Asteroid 2021 JK7 is the biggest of the five asteroids approaching our planet. The 150-foot space rock will come to Earth at the closest distance of 6.3 million kilometers on Monday.

Should We Worry About Asteroid Approaching Earth?

In a previous report from Science Times, astronomers have already mapped and categorized the NEOs paths in the next 1,000 years. Of all the space rocks they observed, only one posed a threat.

Scientists have considered asteroid 7482 potentially hazardous. The space rock will be relatively close to the Earth throughout the ensuing millennia.

Although a collision is not guaranteed, it does show that there is a good chance it will do so within the next thousand years.

The researchers also noticed asteroid 143651, whose orbit is so unpredictable that it is difficult to predict its precise location for over a few decades. Therefore, astronomers cannot say with certainty whether it poses any hazard based on the existing position and velocity.

Thus, it's safe to say that we are safe from asteroid collision in the next millennium.

Astronomers have been monitoring near-Earth objects. Worldwide groups are still examining the skies for potentially hazardous space rocks.

NASA's list of potentially hazardous NEOs is far from complete, so they keep reliable maps of practically all objects greater than a kilometer in size. This is advantageous because kilometer-scale asteroids seriously harm the ecosystem around the planet and destroy entire towns.

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