What is 2025 DU2? Massive 160-ft asteroid dashing toward Earth today at 62,650 kmph
We all know that a large asteroid is heading towards Earth, but that asteroid has the speed of a building (16 stories essentially) hurtling down the road at 62,650 km/h.
This 160-foot wide space rock is also the Apollo group of asteroids and is due to pass close to our planet on March 6 at 6:59 AM IST. It is known as 2025 DU2.
The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with orbits that cross Earth’s path. Many space rocks cross near our planet, but most pass without incident, and some are capable of being dangerous in the future. As such, space agencies such as NASA constantly monitor their movements to estimate any potential risks.
While it will miss us by about 542,000 km-roughly 1.4 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
What would happen If 2025 DU2 hit Earth?
As 2025 DU2 was 160 feet wide and travelling at more than 62,000 km/h while an impact would be catastrophic. That energy would be equal to a nuclear explosion, levelling an entire city and destroying itself severely.
For a point of reference, in 2013, a substantially smaller asteroid, 59 feet wide, entered Earth’s atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The explosion shattered windows in all the cities and injured thousands of people. Next, consider the 2025 DU2, which is almost three times as big.
For example, other space agencies and observatories around the world follow 2025 DU2 with NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). Using advanced telescopes, radar systems, and even input from amateur astronomers, they track and analyze asteroids to predict their paths and assess potential risks.NASA also uses Pan-STARRS planetary radar, and the Catalina Sky Survey project to track the asteroids.
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