Lucky Again! 181-feet-long asteroid 2019 ON came THIS close to Earth HOURS ago, fortunately did not collide
New Delhi: Earth had yet another close encounter with a giant asteroid on Thursday morning. However, we were fortunate that the 181-feet long asteroid named as ‘2019 ON’ did not collide with the Earth and zip past our planet. Yes, you read it right. Asteroid 2019 ON zoom past the Earth at 6:53 am (IST) or 11:23 am (ST) at a speed of 10,400 miles per hour. Notably, this asteroid would have definitely harmed the mankind, if it would have collided with our planet. Asteroids (space rocks) are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Although asteroids orbit the Sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets. You must be aware that asteroids, if hit Earth, can bring massive destruction to our planet and also to human life. The effects of an asteroid strike—tsunamis, shock waves, and flattening winds, could be catastrophic. Asteroids can approach towards the Earth due to the gravitational forces that affect them. Therefore, our fortune can be turned into misfortune anytime. However, as of now, we are safe.
Coming back to asteroid 2019 ON, the massive space rock was spotted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). According to the US space agency’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the closest asteroid 2019 ON to Earth was just under 0.01729 astronomical units or about 1.6 million miles from the Earth’s centre. Well, you can say it was a safe distance, but still much less than the distance between the Earth and Moon.
