230m diameter asteroid approaching Earth

An asteroid with a destructive power 300 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, will pass by Earth on June 24.

Asteroid 230 441987 (2010 NY65) approaches Earth today. Illustration: Express.

The celestial body named 441987 (2010 NY65) hasdiameter 230 mreceived special attention from scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) because it will fly overEarth todayabout three million kilometers, according toSunHowever, this asteroid will definitely not hit Earth.

2010 NY65 was discovered on July 10, 2010 by the Wide-spectrum Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. Experts warn that if such a large asteroid were to hit Earth, humanity would be wiped out.

Graphic depicting asteroids and comets around Earth. Video: NASA.

Dr Alan Fitzsimmons, a member of the European Research Council-funded NEOshield-2 project, said there was currently nothing we could do to stop a large asteroid from hitting Earth. The aim of the NEOshield-2 project is to study ways to deflect dangerous asteroids.

According to researchers, a giant meteorite more than 14 km long crashed into the Gulf of Mexico 66 million years ago, causing clouds of rock to evaporate into the atmosphere, creating a global ash winter that caused 75% of plants and animals to become extinct.

In January, an asteroid the size of a 10-story building traveling at 10 miles per second passed Earth at a distance about half the distance from Earth to the Moon.

According to VNE