Asteroids coming close to Earth have been making the headlines recently. NASA's asteroid watch program states four asteroids are scheduled to fly by Earth today, and one tomorrow.
Recently, asteroid near approaches to Earth have been in the news. The asteroid 2022 QV will come within 8.4 million kilometres of Earth on August 22 according to the most recent study, which also states that five asteroids will approach Earth in the near future. In addition to this asteroid, four more space objects will pass near the planet on August 22 and 23. Look at these asteroids that will be near Earth in the upcoming two days.
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Asteroid 2022 QV
It will allegedly pass Earth at 22:01 at a distance of 8.44 million kilometres and is known as Asteroid 2022 QV. This NEO, which was discovered relatively recently on August 19, poses no threat to Earth. The 2022 QV will be passing by our planet today at a mind-numbing speed of 79200 kmph (22 kph). However, even at this insane speed, the NEO 2022 QV will return to Earth in August 2030, albeit its orbit would have sent it 2.5 million kilometres farther away.
According to several fascinating measuring scales, the astroid NEO 2022 QV is around the size of two tennis courts or roughly equal in size to the statue of liberty. Its size is estimated to be between 18 and 40 metres.
Asteroid 2022 QM
This NEO 2022 QM, a member of the Amor group, was just discovered on August 18. This one will pass us today at a distance of 7.19 million kilometres at a speed of 18000 kmph, which is significantly slower. Asteroid 2022 QM, a space rock the size of a home, will also pass by the planet today. It will come within 10.87 million kilometres range of Earth on August 26, 2076.
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Asteroid 2015 QH3 and QX
The 2015 QH3 was discovered in August 2015 and is a member of the apollo group. It is believed to be between 11 and 24 metres in length and moving at a comparatively moderate speed of 25,200 kmph (7 kilometres per second). Today, this NEO will pass by us at a distance of 2,150,000 kilometres. On August 23, another space rock known as QX will pass past our planet. About 2,810,000 kilometres will separate the QX from Earth.
Asteroid 2022 QW3
According to reports, on August 22, at a distance of 5.39 million kilometres and a speed of 18 km/s, the airplane-sized asteroid 2022 QW3 will pass by the Earth.
This asteroid, which is currently one of the largest approaches, is thought to be between 22 and 49 metres in size. How big, in relational terms, is 50 metres? It is equivalent to the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool or the Pisa Tower. At a distance of 5.39 million kilometres and a speed of 65,800 kph, 2022 QW3 will pass by us today. However, this big one will return very soon, around August 2024. On August 23, 2024, at a distance of 10.71 million kilometres, it will get near to Earth.
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