NASA: Newly Discovered Asteroid To Fly Past Earth On Wednesday

KEY POINTS

NASA detected a new asteroid that will approach Earth on Wednesday
2020 GH2 follows a wide orbit that occasionally crosses Earth's path
The asteroid will be much closer to Earth than the Moon during its visit

NASA has detected a new asteroid that will fly close to Earth on Wednesday (April 15). According to the data collected by the agency, the asteroid will be closer to Earth than the Moon during its visit.

The approaching asteroid has been identified as 2020 GH2. According to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, this space rock has an estimated diameter of almost a hundred feet. It is currently traveling across the Solar System with an average velocity of over 19,000 miles per hour.

NASA noted that 2020 GH2 was first observed on April 11. After analyzing the asteroid’s trajectory, the agency learned that 2020 GH2 follows a wide orbit around the Sun. According to NASA, the asteroid’s orbit extends beyond that of Mars.

As the asteroid makes its way around the Sun, it occasionally crosses Earth’s path. Due to its Earth-intersecting natural orbit, 2020 GH2 has been classified by NASA as an Apollo asteroid.

As noted by CNEOS, 2020 GH2 is not in danger of colliding with Earth on Wednesday. However, it is expected to approach the planet from a close distance. According to CNEOS, the asteroid will fly past Earth at 7:46 a.m. EDT. During this time, the asteroid will be about 0.00240 astronomical units away from the planet’s center, which is equivalent to a distance of around 223,000 miles.

From this distance, the asteroid will be much closer to Earth than the Moon, which orbits the planet from about 238,900 miles away.

Following Wednesday’s near-Earth flyby, 2020 GH2 is expected to zip past the Moon at 3:28 p.m. EDT on the same day. According to CNEOS, the asteroid will approach Earth’s natural satellite from a distance of 0.00462 astronomical units or about 429,000 miles away.

After analyzing the asteroid’s trajectory, CNEOS learned that 2020 GH2 is not expected to return to Earth’s vicinity until March 11, 2029. As noted by the agency, the asteroid will approach Earth from a much farther distance during this time.

According to CNEOS, 2020 GH2 will approach Earth in 2029 from a distance of about 0.46017 astronomical units or 4.3 million miles away.