The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued a warning about a “potentially dangerous” asteroid that would cross planet Earth today.
Called 2020 ND, the asteroid is estimated to be 480 feet, even larger than the London Eye.
2020 ND currently travels at a speed of 48,000 kilometers per hour.
The asteroid is expected to maintain a distance of 0.034 astronomical units, or 5,086,328 kilometers from Earth. This means that it is classified as a PHA or a potentially dangerous asteroid.
“Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid’s potential to make threatening approaches to Earth. Specifically, all asteroids with a minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of 0.05 au or less are considered PHAs, ”said a NASA statement.
However, an asteroid that is classified as PHA does not necessarily mean that it is harmful.
According to the organization, “it only means that there is a possibility of such a threat. By monitoring these PHAs and updating their orbits as new observations become available, we can better predict the approach statistics and thus their threat of impact on Earth. ”
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