NASA Warns That ‘Closest-Ever’ Asteroid Will Pass Earth Next Month
NASA has identified an asteroid that is going to pass by our planet very soon.
The asteroid’s orbit is highly uncertain (condition code 7) and it will be hard to predict where to look for it, experts say.
According to NASA, if an asteroid of a size similar to that of 2013 TX68 were to impact Earth, it would release approximately 2.5 megatons of energy in the atmosphere and would be expected to cause regional devastation.
The asteroid was discovered by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey on Oct. 6, 2013, as it approached Earth on the nighttime side. After three days of tracking, the asteroid passed into the daytime sky and could no longer be observed. Because it was not tracked for very long, scientists cannot predict its precise orbit around the sun, but they do know that it cannot impact Earth during its flyby next month.
Asteroid 2013 TX68 will pass by the planet at a distance of 11,000 miles (17,000 km).
