Asteroid Bigger Than Boeing 747 Jet To Zoom Past Earth's Orbit On Oct 7; Can It Cause Harm? Will It Be Visible? NASA Reveals

Asteroid 2020 RK2 is moving towards the Earth at a speed of 6.68 kilometres per second. It is said to be bigger than the size of a Boeing 747 jet and will cross Earth's orbit on Wednesday (October 7).

Near-Earth asteroid, computer artwork/ Getty Images

New Delhi: Asteroid 2020 RK2 is moving towards the Earth at a speed of 6.68 kilometres per second. It is said to be bigger than the size of a Boeing 747 airliner and will cross Earth's orbit on Wednesday (October 7) at around 10:42 pm.  NASA has revealed that the asteroid is "bigger than Boeing 747 jet". The asteroid could be wider than the wingspan of the jet which is 68.5 m. According to estimates, the Asteroid 2020 RK2 could be between 36m and 81m (118.11 to 265 feet wide) in diameter. NASA reported that the asteroid will move past from Earth's surface at a distance of 38,30,238 km away so the asteroid is extremely unlikely to cause any damage. Also, even though the asteroid will coming near the Earth's orbit, astronomers will most probably not be able to see it from Earth. After the asteroid 2020 RK2 moves past the Earth's orbit on Wednesday, it will not appear near earth before August 2027. In September, an asteroid estimated to be the size of an average school bus briefly appeared before the Earth's orbit, zooming past at a distance of approximately 22,000 kilometers. Called Asteroid 2020 SW, it was roughly reported to be 15 to 30 feet wide. It was not on an impact trajectory with Earth, however, if it had been, the space rock would have broken up high in the atmosphere, transforming into a bright meteor known as a fireball. WATCH | Armenia Vs Azerbaijan: Indian medical student narrates the ground reality