NASA Monitoring 68-Foot Asteroid Currently Approaching Earth

KEY POINTS

An asteroid will approach Earth tomorrow
The asteroid follows an Earth-crossing orbit
If the asteroid were to collide with Earth, it would explode mid-air

NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has detected an asteroid that’s expected to approach Earth tomorrow morning. Instead of just flying past Earth, the agency noted that the asteroid will intersect the planet’s orbit.

The approaching asteroid has been identified as 2020 BF10. According to the data collected by CNEOS, this asteroid has an estimated diameter of about 68 feet. It is currently traveling across the Solar System towards Earth at an average velocity of 19,000 miles per hour.

After analyzing the trajectory of the 2020 BF10’s orbit, NASA classified the space rock as an Apollo asteroid. As indicated in the agency’s database, the asteroid orbits the space between Venus and Mars. As the asteroid completes its cycle, it occasionally intersects the orbit of Earth around the Sun. The space rock’s near-Earth intersections happen twice as it completes its orbit.

In tomorrow’s approach, 2020 BF10 will cross Earth’s path and move past the planet from a very close distance. According to CNEOS, the asteroid is expected to intersect Earth’s path on Feb. 6 at 9:50 a.m. EST. During this time, the asteroid will only be about 0.00732 astronomical units from the planet’s center, which is equivalent to around 680,000 miles away.

Although this may seem quite far, approaching from this distance in space can be a bit dangerous for Earth. For one, certain factors in space could easily nudge 2020 BF10 and alter its trajectory. If this happens, the asteroid could end up hitting the planet.

Fortunately, if the asteroid collides with Earth, it won’t cause an impact event. Instead of hitting the ground, the asteroid will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere due to friction, which will eventually cause it to explode mid-air.

Usually, in airburst events, the energy released by an asteroid’s mid-air explosion can be equivalent to multiple nuclear bombs. Even if the explosion happens several miles in the air and within the protection of the atmosphere, it could still be powerful enough to cause structural damage to buildings on the ground.

Despite the potential dangers posed by an asteroid airburst, it is certainly a better alternative than an impact event on the ground.