NASA gears up for the 2020 PT4 asteroid’s ‘near Earth’ approach

A 37-meter space rock, equal to the size of two 18-wheeler trucks, dubbed “2020 PT4” is expected to pass the moon and the Earth on September 8, 2020 (Sept. 9 PH) in what NASA describes as a “near Earth” approach. 

The asteroid is said to travel at a speed of 12.6 kilometers per second or 45,360 kilometers per hour, a pace that, by estimate, could literally send anyone from the UK to New York more than eight times in a span of an hour.

Classified as a “near-Earth object” (NEO), NASA sees opportunity in the event to learn more of the solar system.

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Considering its size and speed, NASA predicts that the asteroid’s possible collision to Earth will not be “life-threatening.” But the agency alludes the foreseeable magnitude of the situation to be akin to the Chelbayinsk incident.

The Chelbayinsk incident was a 2013 event involving a 20-meter meteor that sees explosion in the area, causing the damage of Windows of residential homes and an injury to 1,000 people.

NASA is not ruling out the possibility of a major space rock hitting the planet as well as the disastrous ramifications that come with the event, albeit the chances being small. 

Via: BBC