Editorial
An asteroid that is reportedly ‘bigger than the Empire State Building’ is heading towards Earth.
According to NASA, 388945 (2008 TZ3) has been classified as a ‘Potentially Hazardous Asteroid’ as it’s expected to make a close approach to our planet on May 15.
The space agency claims that the meteorite is around 1,608 feet wide and stands at 1,454 feet tall.
Watch NASA launch a test for an asteroid-deflecting spacecraft in the clip below…
Apparently, it’s going to pass Earth at a distance of 3.5million miles away – which sounds pretty far. However, NASA flags any asteroid that comes within 4.65million miles of our planet.
Over the years, many experts have shared their concerns over what would happen if a potentially hazardous crater headed our way.
In particular, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been vocal about this, having previously tweeted: “A big rock will hit Earth eventually and we currently have no defense.”
At the time, many people agreed, with one writing: “We need to develop a new technology to prevent this…”
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It’s believed that NASA is now looking into creating some defence mechanisms against asteroids.
Currently, it’s working on a mission that’s called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.
Explaining what this is, the space agency has said: “DART is the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact.”
At the same time, NASA’s CNEOS continue to keep a watch out for near-Earth objects.
Its director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Paul Chodas, has previously told ABC News: “Astronomically, these are coming close to the Earth.
“But in human terms, they are millions of miles away and can get no closer than millions of miles away.”
Watch our Video of the Day below…
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