In the midst of all small asteroid flybys in the past few months, NASA has now warned that a colossal asteroid is heading straight for Earth. The asteroid possesses the capability of causing major catastrophe on Earth and threatens life if it impacts the planet. Although this asteroid was discovered back in 2005, it has still become a cause for concern for scientists due to its sheer size and the speed at which it is rapidly speeding towards Earth.

Asteroid 2005 AZ28 key details

NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office has issued an alert against an asteroid named Asteroid 2005 AZ28. The 150 feet wide asteroid is expected to come very close to Earth today, October 24- as near as 4.3 million kilometers. The asteroid is travelling at a staggering speed of 19476 kilometers per hour. Nasa has issued a warning classifying the Asteroid 2005 AZ28 as a “Potentially Hazardous Object” due to the close proximity with which it will pass by Earth. Although it will not collide with Earth, a slight deviation in its trajectory due to the Earth’s gravitational pull can send it towards Earth for an impact.

According to the-sky.org, Asteroid 2005 AZ28 was discovered way back on January 15, 2005. It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and orbits the Sun in around 657 days. During this orbit, the asteroid’s farthest point from the Sun is at a distance of 298 million kilometers and its nearest point is 144 million kilometers.

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In research published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, MIT scientists have developed a new method to study the internal structure of the space rock based on how the spin of the asteroid changes when it makes a close approach with a huge celestial object, like a planet. This will help in understanding the internal structure of the asteroid as well as the weight distribution, which could help in future DART Missions.

Jack Dinsmore, who developed the new asteroid-mapping technique as an MIT undergraduate majoring in physics told MIT News, “If you know the density distribution of the asteroid, you could hit it at just the right spot so it actually moves away.”