Artist’s concept of an asteroid near Earth.
NASA / JPL-CalTech
It is easy to look to 2020 and assume that an asteroid coming close to Earth this year is just one more disaster to add to the stack. But it will be OK, at least as far as the asteroid 2018 VP1 is concerned.
Yes, the asteroid is scheduled to get uncomfortably close to Earth on November 2, the day before the US election. It may even enter our atmosphere, but it does not fall.
NASA Asteroid Watch, which keeps an eye on these space rocks, tweeted some certainty on Sunday.
Asteroid 2018VP1 is very small, about 6.5 feet, and poses no threat to Earth! It currently has a 0.41% chance of entering the planet’s atmosphere, but if it did, it would disintegrate due to its very small size.
– NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) August 23, 2020
Asteroid 2018 VP1 measures approximately 6.5 feet (2 meters) in diameter. “It currently has a 0.41% chance of entering the atmosphere of our planet, but if it did, it would disintegrate due to its extremely small size,” NASA said.
Asteroid 2018 VP1 is more of a space flex than a big bad harbinger of destruction. Space is a busy place and asteroids are hovering past Earth all the time, including the sometimes surprising asteroid that appears on us.
NASA has been following 2018 VP1 since, well, 2018. We knew it was coming back for a visit. If it touches our atmosphere, it will be much worse for the asteroid than it will be for us.
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