Having an asteroid approaching Earth that’s as huge as two Empire State Buildings isn’t exactly our idea of a good start for 2022. We’re just a few hours away from entering the New Year, and astronomers already have some scary news for us.
According to Newsweek.com, a huge asteroid will zoom past our planet in January. The space rock is as big as two skyscrapers put together, and it’s known as (7482) 1994 PC1.
The asteroid will pass Earth by roughly 1.2 million miles
The huge asteroid will pass our planet on January 18, when it will come at its closest distance: 1.2 million miles, which also means a distance about 5 times bigger than the one that separates us from the Moon.
NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) gives us a better idea of how big the (7482) 1994 PC1 asteroid is: it measures about 1 kilometer/3,280 feet in its diameter — give or take 1,000 feet. CNEOS also compares it to the Empire State Building, adding that the space rock is about twice as big.
Unfortunately or not, asteroids come nearby all the time. They seem to act as a reminder about how fragile the world really is in the face of the Universe. Marina Brozovic, who’s a NASA asteroid expert, was recently asked when was the last time an asteroid hit our planet. Her response may shock you, and you can see it below:
Earth gets hit all the time, and the best answer must be: TODAY! But fortunately, most of the asteroids that enter our atmosphere will disintegrate due to air friction. It seems that somebody up there still loves us!
Therefore, we’re sorry if we have disappointed the misanthrope in you, but there’s no sign that (7482) 1994 PC1 will hit our planet. That means that you’ll have to rely on something else for destroying the world.
