Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2020 QL2, Bigger Than a Football Field, to Fly Past Earth on September 14, Will This Huge Space Rock Be Dangerous?
An asteroid named 2020 QL2 will make its flyby across the planet on September 14. This space rock is huge, bigger than a football field even. So will it be dangerous or cause any damage to the surface of the earth? To answer in short, no, it will not. Read on to know more details about this big space rock.
This year we are even more aware about the space rocks that are heading our way unlike any other. In the last few months especially, a lot of huge rocks are flying past the earth and every time there's a certain fear if it will bring a doomsday. Now, another huge asteroid of potentially hazardous category will fly past the Earth in next two days. An asteroid named 2020 QL2 will make its flyby across the planet on September 14. This space rock is huge, bigger than a football field even. So will it be dangerous or cause any damage to the surface of the earth? To answer in short, no, it will not. Read on to know more details about this big space rock. Asteroid 2018VP1: NASA Data Shows Space Rock Heading Towards Earth and It Has 0.41% Chance to Hit the Planet, Should You Be Worried?
Asteroid 2020 QL2 is around 120 meters (394 feet) in diameter as per NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. With that diameter it could be the size larger than a football field or even the London Eye. It will fly past at nearly 38,620 kms per hour. At its closest point to the orbit it comes at a distance of 6.8 million kms from the planet on September 14. Just last week, another asteroid the size twice of Pyramid of Giza flew past the planet.
Given the huge size of this rock it is considered a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). But there is no chance that it will hit the earth. Given its current path, it will pass at least ten times the distance between Earth and the moon. It is a near-earth object because it comes within a distance lesser than 1.3 au (astronomical units). But there is no need to worry about Asteroid 2020 QL2 or any hitting impact on the planet. The month of September has already seen two big space rocks fly past the planet.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2020 01:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).