Huge 3000-foot asteroid will fly past Earth on 15 February. Scientists say if it will collide with our planet, the consequences would be tantamount to «total nuclear war».
NASA confirmed the approach of a giant space rock, and he said it will closely follow «for all its 3280 feet».
The asteroid 2002 PZ39, according to forecasts, will fly past our planet at speeds of more than 71 000 km/h.
On Saturday, February 15, at about 11.05 GMT (6.05 Eastern time USA) he will do what NASA calls «a close approximation».
Space rock, so big as this, at blow can instantly kill millions.
NASA has confirmed that a ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid is hurtling towards Earth at an incredible speed. https://t.co/1t1toayV0l pic.twitter.com/VqTGsyOgN2
— IGN (@IGN) February 13, 2020
Experts believe that a huge asteroid could produce an effect similar to a strong nuclear strike.
All who would be in the blast radius (2 km from the point of impact) would be killed instantly — even before you realize what’s happening.
Fires, earthquakes, and even tsunamis can be triggered as secondary effects.
NASA said: «We believe that the asteroid impact that exceeds the diameter of 1-2 km, may have consequences in the world.»
Fortunately for us, the asteroid should pass at a distance of more than 7 million km from our planet. In other words, the asteroid will safely fly by almost 12 times farther than the Moon is distant from the Earth.
However, any fast moving space object, which is in the range of 9.3 million km, is considered «potentially dangerous» for careful space organizations.
What is the difference between an asteroid, a meteor and a comet?
An asteroid is a small rocky body that revolves around the Sun. Most of them are in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter), but you can find them anywhere (including on the way which may affect the Land).
This asteroid that just passed by Earth has its own tiny moon. https://t.co/m5uJfezF5f @NAICobservatory pic.twitter.com/jximAQwqto
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) February 13, 2020
Meteoroid is formed when two asteroids hit each other. Small pieces which break away from the asteroid, called a meteoroid.
When a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to evaporate, and then becomes a meteor. From the Earth his downfall will be like a streak of light in the sky, because the stone is lit.
If the meteor does not evaporate completely and stored when traveling through the Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on Earth. At this point it becomes a meteorite.
Comet — like asteroid because it orbits the Sun. But the comet is not completely made of stone, and contains a lot of ice and gas that can result in amazing tails behind them (due to evaporation of ice and dust).
