Mumbai, May 04: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have issued a warning regarding the 55-foot-long asteroid 2023 HZ4, which is anticipated to make its closest approach to Earth today.

The Planetary Defence Coordination Office of NASA, which is in charge of keeping an eye on numerous Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) and monitoring the skies, has issued a warning on the asteroids. Today, May 4, the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) is anticipated to come the closest to Earth. Asteroid Alert! House-Sized Celestial Rock Hurtling Towards Earth At Breakneck Speed, NASA Reveals If It Poses Any Threat To Humans. 

Although the airplane-sized asteroid 2023 HZ4 will pass very close to the Earth, it is not anticipated to make land contact, according to NASA's asteroid watch page. The asteroid is moving at a speed of 3,080,000 kilometres per hour and will pass Earth at a distance of 6.3 million km.

According to the American space agency, HZ4 is a member of the Amor group of asteroids, which are coming closer to Earth. The organisation added that these asteroids do not breach Earth's orbit.

How NASA Keeps Track of Asteroids

NASA uses a variety of ground-based telescopes, including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which is situated in the Antofagasta Region of the Atacama Desert in Chile, to observe and study distant asteroids in addition to its space telescopes and observatories like the NEOWISE.

NASA has created infrared data and the Sentry-II algorithm to predict asteroid trajectories years in advance, allowing researchers to analyse and determine the impact risk of these celestial bodies. Asteroid 22 RQ Headed Towards Earth With Incredible Speed of 49,536; Know If It Will Strike or Miss Our Planet. 

Almost 28,000 near-Earth asteroids have been found and are currently being tracked.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 04, 2023 01:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).