Sometimes asteroids come dangerously close to Earth, but they always miss us by a safe margin. Amazingly, astronomers have discovered three NEAs that were previously invisible due to the Sun’s intense light. These asteroids include the largest potentially dangerous object found in the last eight years. Astrologist observations in this area are notoriously difficult due to the Sun’s glare. Additionally, NASA has issued a warning that a potentially dangerous asteroid is headed today and will pass amazingly close to Earth.
The Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA has issued a warning that the asteroid, designated 2022 WM7, will approach Earth at a minimum distance of 78,500 kilometers on November 28. Nearly 320,000 kilometers separate us from the Moon. Consequently, this asteroid will fly by Earth at a distance closer than the Moon. This is going to be one of the closest passes by an asteroid that we’ve seen all year. An estimated 41686 kilometers per hour is the asteroid’s speed as it hurtles toward Earth. It is a member of the larger Apollo group of asteroids, a collection of Near-Earth objects named for the enormous Apollo asteroid, discovered in 1862 and named for German astronomer Karl Reinmuth.
While the Earth has been subjected to numerous close flybys by asteroids, NASA has just announced that one hit the planet only days ago. NASA monitors these asteroids using data gathered from a variety of space and ground-based telescopes and observatories, including the Pan-STARRS, Catalina Sky Survey, and NEOWISE telescope. It seems that they all missed this particular asteroid, as it was only found a few hours before it was set to make impact. To the surprise of many, NASA has confirmed that a small asteroid flew over Southern Ontario, Canada on November 19. Amazingly, 3.5 hours before impact, this 3-foot asteroid was spotted. As per NASA, the asteroid probably dispersed small meteorites along the southern shore of Lake Ontario before exploding in the Earth’s atmosphere.
