A potentially dangerous asteroid is approaching Earth

On the night before Monday, August 10, at 00:20 UTC, asteroid 2019 NY2 will fly past our planet. According to the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, the diameter of this cosmic wanderer can reach an impressive 330 meters.

This was reported by RMF24.

Despite the fact that the object is officially listed as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA), experts urge people to remain calm. There is no real threat of a collision with Earth. The potentially hazardous status is assigned to asteroids whose orbits pass closer than 7.5 million km from Earth's orbit. This time, the celestial body will miss our planet at a distance of approximately 2.5 million km — that is 6.5 times farther than the distance to the Moon.

However, the event is no less remarkable because of that: the upcoming close approach will be a record one in all 150 years of observations of this object. Asteroid 2019 NY2 belongs to the Apollo group and completes a full orbit around the Sun in approximately 2.3 years. The flyby was supposed to be a unique opportunity for detailed radar scanning using NASA's largest antennas, but due to technical limitations, the observations had to be canceled.