Asteroid 1994 PC1 is not on track to hit Earth (Representational image)
NASA has said that a giant asteroid will pass by Earth today. The asteroid, named 7482 (1994 PC1), measures over a kilometer (about 3,450 feet) in width—making it larger than any building on Earth. For comparison, the tallest building on Earth, the Burj Khalifa, measures 2,722 feet. NASA’s Asteroid Watch Twitter account said PC1 has been studied by astronomers for decades and will not pose a threat to Earth. At its closest, the asteroid would still be five lunar distances away, which is five times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
“Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will fly safely 1.2 million miles from our planet,” NASA tweeted. According to Space.com, the asteroid will make its closest approach on Jan. 18 at 4.51 p.m. EST. In Indian Standard Time, this would mean around 2.45 am on January 19. The asteroid will be traveling at about 45,000 mph.
You can watch 1994 PC1’s journey through our solar system on NASA’s live asteroid tracker, using the link below:
almost earth #asteroid 1994 PC1 (~1 km wide) is very famous and has been studied by us for decades #protect the planets specialist. Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will fly safely 1.2 million miles from our planet next Mars, Jan. 18.
Track it yourself here: https://t.co/JMAPWiirZhpic.twitter.com/35pgUb1anq
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) 12 January 2022
On social media, the news of the asteroid’s approach created a huge buzz. Take a look at some of the responses:
A massive asteroid larger than the size of Burj Khalifa is set to fly past Earth at a distance of 1,23,000 miles on January 18. Asteroid 7482, also known as 1994 PC1, is approximately 1.6 km wide and is classified by the US space agency NASA. as a “potentially dangerous item”.
— Rajrishi Dubey (@Imrajrishi_) 18 January 2022
It has been vaccinated four times, so it can come if it wants.
— stumcq (@Mcqstu) 17 January 2022
That’s a near omission… I hope the math was fine, right?
— don_boh (@frakimo) 15 January 2022
Now that asteroid is ready to hit the Earth.
—Varron Perez – Is It 2023 Yet? (@vaironp) 18 January 2022
A lot of people were reminded of the recently released Netflix movie don’t look up, in which two scientists try to convince the United States government of the danger posed by a fast-approaching asteroid.
Oh, just hit us up and get over it. #don’t lookup
— bette_blackwell (@betteblackwell15) 17 January 2022
As long as we don’t accept it, it can’t hurt us.
— JB (I/Me) (@_john92_) 13 January 2022
— TravGneiss (@TravGneiss) 13 January 2022
Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) was discovered by astronomer Robert McNaught in 1994. After flying past Earth today, it is not expected to be so close to our planet for the next century.
click for more trending news
,