Asteroids are scary space rocks and they are whizzing around in space in an uncontrolled manner. They can be very destructive, as was proved by the one that crashed onto Earth 66 million years ago and drove the dinosaurs, who dominated the early Earth, into extinction. That only helped mammals to establish their rule on Earth. If one crashes on Earth now, it can very well spell a catastrophe for humanity. And that is why space agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, otherwise known as NASA, devote so much money, time and attention to tracking each asteroid that comes too close to the planet. Now, one asteroid will be coming almost as close as the moon to Earth today.
This is Asteroid 2024 GV3. NASA has revealed that it will be making a very close approach to Earth and that it will get as close as 317,000 miles. Notably, moon’s distance from Earth is 239,000 miles. The asteroid will make a close pass at Earth today. However, there is no reason to worry even though it will get mighty close. The reason is that it will not get any closer and fly back into space thereafter, NASA revealed.
And how big is it? The asteroid has been estimated to be 21 feet wide, which would make it the size of a bus.
However, this is not the only asteroid that will come close to Earth today. There are four others, but they will not come as close to Earth as Asteroid 2024 GV3. Among these the closest will get as near as 545,000 miles and the farthest will be 2,370,000 miles.
While asteroids may create terror whenever they stray too close, some scientists say that they can also be the carriers of water to planets.
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)study indicated that its scientists had achieved a significant breakthrough by identifying water molecules on asteroids for the first time. This amazing discovery had sheds light on the presence of water in the early solar system. That also means it has implications for our understanding of what asteroids are composed of.