On September 12, an asteroid will approach the Earth, but, according to astronomers, it will pass near our planet at a safe distance.
As the name implies, asteroid 2008 RW was discovered and observed by astronomers for some time. The size of the celestial body is estimated to be about 73-164 meters and it usually revolves around the Sun in about three years.
For the current round, its trajectory will pass closer to the ground than usual.
According to Budapest time, 2008 RW will be closest to Earth on the night of September 12, but according to astronomers, it will still be about 6.7 million km from our planet. This is several times the distance between Earth and the Moon, and many asteroids – which also avoid Earth – usually pass in orbits much closer than that without falling into Earth’s gravity.
Thus, 2008 RW is unlikely to cause any problems, but given the distance of 6.7 million km, it could already be a potentially dangerous asteroid, which is why NASA is closely monitoring its movements. After this time, the next time the asteroid can approach Earth will be on September 11, 2036, when it will pass approximately 6.9 million km away, he writes sky.org.
It should be noted that in 2013, a meteorite entered the Earth’s atmosphere near Chelyabinsk, Russia. This celestial body fell into pieces 20 meters above the surface.
