Mumbai, September 13: In what could be seen as a potential danger coming towards earth, NASA recently said that a massive asteroid which is almost equal to the size of an aircraft is headed towards the Earth. According to reports, the asteroid named Asteroid 22 RQ is already heading toward the earth today, September 13. If reports are to be believed, Asteroid 22 RQ is already on its way toward the earth.

Shockingly, Asteroid 22 RQ is heading towards the earth at an astonishing speed of 49,536. However, NASA said that Asteroid 22 RQ will miss the planet today, September 13. In its official statement, NASA said that Asteroid 22 RQ will make the closest approach to earth but is most likely to miss it at a distance of 3.7 million kilometers. However, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office said that Asteroid 22 RQ is 84 feet wide and almost the size of an aircraft. NASA Gives Nod to Uncrewed Artemis I Moon Mission on August 29 (Watch Video).

According to a report by the-sky.org, the massive asteroid named 22 RQ was first discovered on September 1, 2022. The reports also mentioned that the asteroid belongs to the main Apollo group of asteroids. As per reports, the asteroid is around 328 million kilometres farthest from the sun while it is the nearest point to the sun is 110 million kilometres.

NASA will also use its NEO Observations Program which will help to track, record, and monitor nearly 90 percent of near-Earth objects. The NEO programs can even characterise NEOs that are at least 140 meters or larger in size. Near-Earth objects (NEO) is a common name given by NASA for various kinds of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets among others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 13, 2022 10:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).