NASA Warns Asteroid Capable Of Causing Major Impact Event Approaching This Week

NASA has detected the biggest asteroid to approach Earth this week. Based on the data collected by the agency’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the incoming asteroid is big enough to take out an entire city.

The approaching asteroid has been identified as 2019 WR3. According to CNEOS’ database, this massive space rock is currently flying at speeds of almost 17,000 miles per hour.

CNEOS estimated that 2019 WR3 is about 525 feet wide, which makes it almost as tall as the Washington Monument.

Asteroid 2019 WR3 was first observed on Nov. 27. After analyzing the asteroid’s trajectory, CNEOS classified 2019 WR3 as an Apollo asteroid. Similar to the other Apollos, 2019 WR3 follows an orbit that takes it around the planets of the Solar System. From time to time, the asteroid’s path crosses Earth’s orbit since the planet travels around the Sun.

The last time 2019 WR3 intersected Earth’s orbit was on April 5, 2017. Back then, the asteroid approached the planet from a distance of 0.45904 astronomical units or around 43 million miles away.

This year, however, the asteroid will be approaching the planet at a much closer distance of 0.03638 astronomical units about 3.4 million miles away. According to CNEOS, this will happen on Dec. 6 at 3:52 pm EST.

The significant change in the asteroid’s distance from Earth can be attributed to several factors in space that can affect its trajectory. One of these is the heat produced by light from the Sun. If one side of the asteroid gets heated by sunlight, it could cause the space rock to spin, which could then change its trajectory.

Another factor that can affect the path of asteroids is gravity. Whenever asteroids pass near planets and other massive cosmic bodies, they get affected by their strong gravitational pull. As a result, they get slightly nudged into a different trajectory.

If 2019 WR3 ends up on a collision course with Earth, this asteroid could cause a major impact event on the planet. Given its size and speed, the asteroid would create a crater that’s about two miles wide. The energy that would be released upon its impact would be powerful enough to wipe out an entire city and its neighboring areas.