An Asteroid Twice The Size Of Qutub Minar To Make A Close Approach To Earth On July 29

A 400-foot wide asteroid will make a close approach to Earth on July 29, 2022. The asteroid, known as 2016 CZ31, is almost twice the height of Qutub Minar, which is 239 metres high.

According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, Asteroid 2016 CZ31will make a close approach to Earth at a distance of 0.01870 astronomical units or almost 28,00,000 kilometres. It has an orbital period of about 630 days or 1.72 years. | Representative Photo

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A 400-foot wide asteroid will make a close approach to Earth on July 29, 2022. The asteroid, known as 2016 CZ31, is almost twice the height of Qutub Minar, which is 239 metres high.

According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid will make a close approach to Earth at a distance of 0.01870 astronomical units or almost 28,00,000 kilometres. This is almost seven times the average distance between Earth and Moon, which is 3,85,000 kilometres.

The relative velocity of the asteroid with respect to Earth is 15.45 kilometres per hour. 

It is categorised as an Apollo-Class Asteroid, a term used for an object whose orbit crosses that of Earth. It is also a near-Earth Asteroid.

The Chelyabinsk asteroid which entered Earth's atmosphere in 2013, shattering windows over six Russian cities, was also an Apollo-Class Asteroid. 

Asteroid 2016 CZ31 has an orbital period of about 630 days or 1.72 years. This year, the asteroid will appear the brightest on July 28. It will make its next closest approach to Earth on July 22, 2041. 

The asteroid was discovered on February 5, 2016, according to the.sky.org. Asteroid 2016 CZ31 is not a potentially hazardous near-Earth object. 

The farthest point of 2016 CZ31 from the Sun, or the aphelion, is 320 million kilometres. The nearest point of the asteroid from the Sun, or the perihelion, is 110 million kilometres.