Once again, we must be aware of a huge asteroid that’s approaching our planet, unfortunately. 2022 RJ2 is the star of the show this time, and thankfully, we’ll get a happy ending.
Asteroids can come in many sizes and shapes, and some of them are terrifyingly large. They can feature such sizes that they can even have moons revolving around them. As for the 2022 RJ2 space rock, it’s still a small one compared to the biggest asteroids that astronomers learned about.
Asteroid 2022 RJ2 zooms past Earth on September 12
Hindustan Times reveals that the 2022 RJ2 asteroid will pass by our planet in only three days. It’s a space rock that belongs to the main Apollo group of asteroids. Therefore, if something totally unexpected by scientists doesn’t happen, the space rock will safely miss us at about 1.17 million kilometers. However, the asteroid is not too large, even though NASA classifies it as “potentially hazardous.” The space rock measures about 45 feet in width, meaning 13.71 meters. This makes it about the size of a bus, meaning that it would still be able to cause some damage if it hits. By comparison, the Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia almost ten years ago measured 19 meters in diameter.
The 2022 RJ2 asteroid also doesn’t like to waste any time, as it hurtles through space at the speed of over 57,000 kilometers per hour.
What may be a little frightening for some of us is that astronomers discovered the 2022 RJ2 asteroid less than a week ago, on September 3. Otherwise, NASA is keeping an eye on the sky with powerful gears in order to determine if there are dangerous asteroids approaching our planet.
Feel free to also check out the “Large 2022 RW Asteroid Will Come Close to Earth Very Soon” article that was posted by our publication on Monday.