A trillion-dollar asteroid is about to pass by Earth
According to scientists, an asteroid worth about 5.4 trillion USD will fly past Earth on July 19.
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| A meteorite flies past the earth. Illustration: Corbis |
According to scientists' calculations, the asteroid named 2011 UW-158 will pass by the Earth at a distance of 2.4 million km at 6:30 a.m. on July 19, Eastern Time (around 6:30 p.m. on the same day, Vietnam Time). This distance is nearly 30 times longer than the distance from Earth to the nearest planet.
An observatory in Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean will broadcast live footage of the meteorite flying near Earth on the Internet, according to the Daily Mail.
According to estimates by Planetary Resources - a company specializing in mining on planets (headquartered in Washington state, USA) - the core of meteorite 2011 UW-158 contains about 90 million tons of platinum. Therefore, the potential value of the meteorite is up to 5.4 trillion USD.
Planetary Resources considers asteroid 2011 UW-158 to be an “X-type” meteorite — one that is composed primarily of metal and appears to be the remains of large asteroids that broke off from the Earth’s core and crust.
On the occasion of the asteroid 2011 UW-158 passing by the Earth, astronomers and scientists will have the opportunity to discuss, research and assess its value for future space exploration.
According to Zing.vn
