“Asteroid 200m hurtling towards Earth.”

NASA is closely monitoring a small journey set to fly past Earth at the end of May, traveling at a speed of 25,750 km/h. The large celestial body heading towards the planet is called 2023 CL3 and estimated to be approximately 200 meters wide. NASA has classified this asteroid as a Near-Earth Object, a group of space rocks that require continued study.

With its size being twice as large as the Statue of Liberty (about 93 meters tall including the pedestal, or 46 meters without), an asteroid of this size could cause serious damage if it were to collide with Earth. This is why if an asteroid flies within 7.5 million kilometers and measures over 140 meters, it is typically considered “potentially hazardous” by space agencies.

As anticipated, asteroid 2023 will pass by Earth on May 24th at a distance of just 7.2 million kilometers. This is not a significant distance in astronomical terms. Experts predict that the asteroid will safely pass by Earth at a speed exceeding 25,750 km/h.

Asteroids are small rocks that orbit the Sun. NASA estimates that there are 1,113,527 asteroids in the Solar System, most of which orbit between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt. However, due to their relatively small size, asteroids are susceptible to gravitational disturbances and have intersecting orbits with planets, according to Jay Tate, director of the Spaceguard Observatory in the UK. The majority of asteroids range in size from 10 meters to 529 kilometers.

Scientists are quickly developing methods to protect Earth from hazardous asteroids. Prior to this, a group of NASA scientists released four studies confirming the success of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which altered the trajectory of a small asteroid by directly colliding a spacecraft with it. Ongoing missions aim to improve the effectiveness of this planetary defense technique.

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