Even though asteroids approach Earth daily, they never get close enough to hit the surface. Nevertheless, the threat they pose to our planet is still brought home by their close encounters with it. Space organizations like NASA and ESA monitor these near-Earth objects (NEOs) and keep an eye on them to see if they ever occur as a threat to the Earth.
Two massive asteroids are currently travelling toward Earth and are expected to get closer to the planet in the near future. NASA also detected a ring-shaped Sunspot on the Sun.
Through its monitoring program, NASA was able to identify the various characteristics of the approaching asteroids. For instance, its distance from Earth and speed were vital data points.
The space agency identified the two space rocks as asteroids 2023 FT1 and 2023 FG5. It also disclosed their projected path, distance from Earth, and trajectory.
On Monday, the asteroid known as 2023 FT1 will approach Earth at a distance of 7.4 million kilometres.
It’s about as big as an aeroplane and has a width of over 110 feet. On the other hand, the asteroid known as 2023 FG5 will make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of 2,260,000 miles. A mysterious new type of black hole has been discovered by scientists.
These two asteroids belong to the Apollo group, composed of various space rocks and named after the massive asteroid discovered in 1862 by Karl Reinmuth, a German astronomer.
NASA has already materialised the DART mission that will help divert asteroids from their path in case they pose danger to Earth.