'Potentially hazardous' asteroid to veer closest to Earth it's been in century next week
dailystar.co.ukasteroid (455176) 1999 VF22 will make its closest approach to the Earth in over a century.The asteroid was discovered, as its name suggests, in November 1999.The space rock’s exact size isn’t known.
Because its surface is dark and unreflective it’s difficult for astronomers to determine its exact size. Estimates vary between 623 and 1,410 feet.
The most accurate observations of the object, made in 2019, put its diameter at around 738 feet.But even at its smallest possible size, the asteroid would leave a city-sized dent in the Earth if it were to enter the atmosphere – which is why it’s on NASA’s list of Potentially Hazardous Objects.Tuesday’s near-miss isn’t likely to result in a city-killing event though.
Astronomers predict that the asteroid will pass safely by the Earth at a distance of 3,334,000 miles – a close shave in astronomical terms but nothing to immediately worry about.That’s around 14 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.The next time the asteroid will make such a close approach – assuming its orbit isn’t perturbed by some other space rock, will be on or around February 23, 2150.Its closest known previous approach was on on October 31 1999 – 10 days before it was first observed by the Catalina Sky Survey.
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