A “potentially” dangerous asteroid is approaching: 500 meters wide, it should “shepherd” our planet this Sunday

NASA expects the asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) to pass close to Earth this Sunday, May 15 at 11pm French time and 9:18pm GMT.

Although the asteroid’s orbit is about 3.5 million kilometers away, it is considered a hazard by NASA. If an asteroid is within 4.65 million kilometers from our planet and is larger than a certain size, it is “potentially dangerous,” the space agency said.

This giant space rock that almost scales 500 meters wide This is not his first visit. According to NASA, it usually moves closer to Earth every two years.

The giant space rock moves at 37,400 kilometers per hour, which is 9 times faster than a bullet.

Despite the enormous distance, at space level, the orbits are closely monitored, and the risk of collision is taken very seriously by scientists. This is because if NASA had declared this passage to be “close existence” a warning would have been needed for a distance of 3.5 million kilometers. During a collision with another asteroid, debris, for example, may come close to Earth.

If asteroids such as the 2008 TZ3 are described as dangerous, it is due to “complex calculations regarding size (over 150 meters) and object approaching distance”. Of our planet.

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Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) was discovered in 2008 and has an orbital period of 732 days. It will make its next appearance in May 2024, but is still a long way off, 7 million kilometers away.