Asteroid three times the size of Taj Mahal to fly past Earth on July 25

New Delhi : In 2020, many asteroids were reported to fly past Earth and this year too many asteroids are slated to cross Earth. According to reports, an asteroid that is three times the size of Taj Mahal is likely to pass by on July 25.

The asteroid ‘2008 GO20,’ sized about 220 metres in diameter, will reach its closest approach to Earth at around 3 am on July 25 (India Standard Time) according to NASA’s database of Near-earth objects. The asteroid is to pass at a distance of 4.7 million kilometres from Earth.

Should we worry?

Well, according to its distance there are very less chances of it hitting the Earth, so there is no potential danger. But, since it will be passing through an orbit called Apollo, NASA has flagged it as potentially hazardous object and it is continuously monitoring.

According to NASA, “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid’s potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth. Specifically, all asteroids with a minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of 0.05 au or less and an absolute magnitude (H) of 22.0 or less are considered PHAs.”