NASA just warned about an asteroid approaching Earth and will pass very close to it on Friday (October 20). According to the space agency, the asteroid, identified as Asteroid 2023 TK15, will make its closest approach to Earth, which will be even more intimate than the moon. The coming space rock is part of the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are space rocks that cross the Earth’s semi-major axis. These asteroids are named after the massive 1862 Apollo asteroid, which was discovered in the 1930s by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth. NASA has been tracking these asteroids with its radar for a long time in an attempt to preserve the Earth from being hit by space debris.
2023 TK15 is an asteroid
According to NASA, Asteroid 2023 TK15 will pass Earth at a distance of 379,994 kilometers, which is even closer than the Moon. To put that into perspective, the Moon is 384,400 kilometers away from Earth. As a result, it will be one of the year’s closest asteroid encounters. The asteroid was identified and monitored using a variety of cutting-edge technical instruments, including the NEOWISE telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Pans-STARRS1, and the Catalina Sky Survey.
Is it hazardous?
According to NASA, despite its incredibly close approach, Asteroid 2023 TK15 poses no harm to Earth due to its modest size. The space agency believes it to be roughly 130 feet broad, nearly as large as an aircraft. Asteroid 2013 TK15 will travel close to Earth for the second time. On June 18, last year, the asteroid made a non-threatening close encounter with the globe. The approach of Asteroid 2013 TK15 this year may be the last, as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has already prohibited any future approaches.
