An enormous asteroid is expected to fly through Earth’s orbit and potentially our atmosphere in the coming days, and NASA has yet to comment on the situation.
NASA is tracking asteroid 199145 (2005 YY128), a reportedly enormous rock somewhere between 1,870 and 4,265 feet across, according to Space Reference. However, the agency has yet to share any specific updates on the rock as it barrels toward our tiny little planet as they have with smaller asteroids in the past in the Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
The asteroid is classified as both a “Near Earth Asteroid” and a “Potentially Hazardous Asteroid,” as it will apparently pass within 4,500,000 kilometers of the planet in the coming days, but NASA is allegedly not confident it will definitely hit our orbit, according to Science Times. If it does, it will cause damage due to its sheer size, which is comparable to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
If The Largest Asteroid Near Earth Hit Us, Here’s What It Would Look Like | @DailyCaller
It would look like we all died. https://t.co/8V53OR1MFp
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) October 12, 2022
A simulation of the asteroid’s trajectory was shared by Space Reference, showing it in extremely close proximity to Earth. (RELATED: NOAA Verifies Cataclysmic Flooding Events)
It’s likely that the asteroid will not crash into Earth, and may only skim through our orbit. Without conclusive updates from NASA regarding the situation, it’s hard to know more than that at this time.
Despite almost a hundred years of revolutionary technological development, the study of asteroids remains a significant blind spot in Earth’s planetary defense. In recent weeks, at least one asteroid heading closer to Earth than our satellites was missed by every major domestic and international space agency and program. It was eventually identified by an amateur astronomer.