Asteroid Twice Taj Mahal's Size Hurtling Towards Earth, Classified As 'Potentially Hazardous'

A 540-foot asteroid, 2014 TN17, will safely pass Earth on March 26, 2025, but remains classified as potentially hazardous due to trajectory risks.

The asteroid is set to make its closest approach at 5:04 PM IST.

Source : Freepik

A massive 540-foot asteroid 2014 TN17, which is twice the size of the Taj Mahal, is heading in the direction of Earth at 77,282 kilometres per hour. Although it is set to safely bypass Earth on March 26 2025, it has still been classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA). An asteroid which is considered as PHA has the potential to be a danger to Earth in the future as any shift in its trajectory due to gravitational pull of other planets or crash with space debris can lead to the asteroid hitting Earth.

More about 2014 TN17

The asteroid is set to make its closest approach at 5:04 PM IST. It will pass Earth at a safe distance of 5 million kilometres from Earth which is 13 times the distance between Earth and Moon. Although this distance may seem like a lot, due to the size of the asteroid, it still poses a threat. 2014 TN17 is known as Apollo asteroids which are Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) that have orbits that can cross Earth's orbit. They form the majority of asteroids that are considered PHA.

What will happen if an asteroid hits Earth?

If an asteroid the size of 2014 TN17 hits Earth, it has the potential to release energy equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs. This can flatten entire regions and even change the weather pattern. One of the best-known incidents is the Tunguska event in Siberia when an explosion occurred and flattened 80 million trees. It is considered to have been caused by an object roughly half the size of 2014 TN17. An asteroid also exploded in the air in 2013. The shockwave from the Chelyabinsk meteor caused windows to shatter.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-funded telescopes, radar systems, and amateur astronomers worldwide contribute to tracking space rocks, yet many asteroids go undetected until they are dangerously close.