This Christmas Eve, an asteroid, the size of an airplane, about 120 feet, is going to flyby Earth. This asteroid is named “2024 XN1” by the scientists. This asteroid is going to be closest to the Earth on December 24, with a distance of about 4,480,000 miles ( 7,217,247 kilometers), which is around 18 times the distance between the Moon & the Earth. It is moving at a speed of around 14,743 miles per hour (ie. 23,589 kilometers per hour or 6.5 kilometers per second).
Importance of This Asteroid
Scientists have been studying the asteroids passing close to Earth for the past few decades but this asteroid “2024 XN1”, is somewhat special. The importance of this asteroid is that its path can tell us about the origin of the early solar system. And that’s why, NASA is using its best of the best tech, to monitor and understand the path of this asteroid.
Formation of Asteroids
Asteroids are celestial bodies that are moving in our universe in continuous flow. These bodies are smaller than any planet in size but more extensive than meteors. They are made of rock & metal. They are believed to be formed when a planet or star breaks down into bits. There are about 20 lakh asteroids revolving in our solar system.
Out if the next five asteroids that will come close to Earth, this asteroid “2024 XN1” is the largest one. But, scientists have assured that this won’t threaten humans. To monitor this asteroid and other asteroids & comets, NASA is using the Asteroid Watch dashboard, which provides details like date, size, and distance from Earth, of each object that passes close to Earth.
