It is expected to fly 3.5 million kilometers from the planet.
An asteroid three times the size of a blue whale will fly past Earth on June 6. It will move at a speed of 26,000 kilometers per hour, according to Live Science.
The celestial body has been designated 2021 GT2, it is expected to pass at a distance of 3.5 million kilometers from our planet. This is about 10 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
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Astronomers first noticed this cosmic stone last year. According to their estimates, the diameter of the asteroid is 37-83 meters. Although such dimensions seem very large, they are still not enough to cause significant damage to the Earth.
The asteroid belongs to the class of Atons, which means that it rotates closer to the Sun than the Earth, and crosses the orbit of our planet from the inside. Astronomers know 1,800 such asteroids, most of which are considered potentially dangerous.
The next time 2021 GT2 approaches Earth is January 26, 2034, when it will pass at a distance of 14.5 million kilometers from the planet.
The asteroid belongs to the class of near-Earth objects. This term refers to celestial bodies that rotate within 1.3 astronomical units (average distance from Earth to the Sun) from the star. NASA is monitoring hundreds of thousands of such objects, predicting their trajectories for hundreds of years to come.
At the moment, scientists do not think that any of the near-Earth objects are a threat to the planet. However, astronomers want to be prepared for the fact that the trajectory of near-Earth asteroids may change due to some unforeseen event. For example, a near-Earth asteroid will collide with another object, resulting in a large amount of space debris.
Earlier, astronomers officially confirmed the discovery of another Trojan asteroid, Earth. It was designated 2020 XL5 and is the second such celestial body found on our planet.
