A large asteroid 3200 Phaeton approaches our planet, according to NASA, it will fly past it on Saturday. The trajectory of the object with a diameter of 5.1 km at a distance of 10.3 million miles from Earth — he will come so close for the first time since opening in 1983.
source: twitter
Scientists believe that Phaethon is the parent body of a meteor shower the Geminids, which peaked in the night from 13 to 14 December.
The reason the asteroid is named in honor of the hero of Greek myth who accidentally burned the Earth with their chariot — it is the third largest in the category of potentially dangerous, and could theoretically cause significant damage to the planet in the event of a collision.
Today, however, earthlings have nothing to worry about — from-for considerable distances, the probability of collision or gravitational effects are equal to zero. But look at the celestial body. However, this would require a small telescope.
NASA is reporting that the next time 3200 Phaethon will come to the Earth only in 2050.
