Titanic-sized asteroid will pass by Earth this weekend. Here's where you can track it
A Titanic-sized asteroid is slated to pass by Earth Saturday according to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which monitors the orbits of near-Earth objects for NASA.
The 840-foot asteroid, named 467336 (2002 LT 38), is just 42 feet shy of the length of the Titanic, which CNEOS categorizes as “stadium-sized.”
The asteroid was first identified by scientists in June last year and is set to miss Earth by about 4.4 million miles.
What are near-Earth objects?
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are comets and asteroids composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles that pass near Earth, according to CNEOS.
CNEOS works to characterize each comet and asteroid whose orbit brings them within 120 million miles of the Sun. NEOs can range in size anywhere between 10 feet to 25 miles.
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How frequently do near-Earth objects pass by?
Small fragments of asteroids and comets less than 3 feet in size hit Earth’s atmosphere almost daily, according to NASA. Slightly bigger asteroids, about a few meters, pass between the Earth and Moon several times a month.
How many near-Earth asteroids have been discovered?
NASA estimates that there have been more than 19,000 NEO asteroids discovered as of 2019. An average of 30 new discoveries are added each week.
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What are the chances of Earth being impacted by an asteroid?
As of now, NASA doesn’t predict there is a significant chance of Earth being struck by an asteroid larger than 140 meters in the next 100 years.
What’s the difference between an asteroid and a comet?
An asteroid is a small, inactive body that orbits the sun, typically composed of rocky, dusty and metallic materials. They usually orbit within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, according to NASA.
Comets are small sun-orbiting bodies that contain ice and usually get vaporized when they approach the star.
How to watch an asteroid
The best way for most people to “watch” an asteroid is by tracking it on NASA’s Asteroid Watch website. Here you can see the next five closest approaches to Earth while relishing in the accompanying anxiety.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Titanic-sized asteroid is set to pass by Earth. What to know
