As an enormous asteroid, comparable in size to the Empire State Building, hurtles toward Earth, it has sparked concerns among people worldwide.
NASA has classified this asteroid as "potentially hazardous," adding to the concern surrounding its trajectory.
According to NASA's Asteroid Watch department, the asteroid, named 2008 OS7, will pass by our planet at a distance of approximately 1.7 million miles.
While this might seem like a considerable gap, in astronomical terms, it is relatively close. The asteroid will be traveling at an astonishing speed of 18.2 kilometers per second or 40,700 miles per hour.
Scientists estimate that the asteroid measures between 690 and 1,570 feet in diameter, based on data from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
This makes it comparable in size to the iconic Empire State Building, which stands at around 1,250 feet tall. The massive size of the asteroid has added to the sense of concern among observers.
Why do people don't need to worry about this Empire State Building-size asteroid?
However, experts claim that there are no worries about this asteroid.
Professor Martin Barstow, an astrophysics and space science expert from the University of Leicester in the UK, explains that although the asteroid is classified as "potentially hazardous," it does not pose a significant threat.
For an asteroid to be classified as such, it needs to have an absolute brightness of 22.0 or less, indicating its potential to cause regional damage upon impact with the Earth.
Barstow emphasizes that not all Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are hazardous, but all hazardous objects fall under the category of NEOs.
Minjae Kim, a research fellow at the University of Warwick, echoes Barstow's sentiment, stating that the incoming asteroid, 2008 OS7, poses no immediate danger.
While it has been classified as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)" due to its intersecting orbit with Earth, it will not enter Earth's atmosphere.
She explains that although it will approach close to Earth, there are numerous asteroids in our Solar System, and the likelihood of a collision is extremely low.
The next notable PHA that will approach Earth is the 99942 Apophis, scheduled for its close encounter on April 14, 2029.
Apophis belongs to the classification of small to medium-sized asteroids, with dimensions roughly comparable to that of a football field.
Most asteroids are too faint to be observed using current techniques and surveys, making them virtually invisible to the naked eye.
