It was around 66 million years back that a giant asteroid hit the earth in its full fury. The impact was so huge, and it resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. Since then, no such events have happened, and it has played a crucial role in shaping the evolution of humans. However, space experts believe that earth is not safe from deep space impacts, as asteroids, both big and small used to approach the planet regularly.
One kilometer-wide asteroid approaching earth next week
And now, NASA has confirmed that an asteroid as wide as one kilometer will approach earth next week. The asteroid named 7482 (1994 PC1) will shoot past earth, and it will not come close to the earth for the next few decades.
According to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid will zip past the earth on January 18. During the time of its close approach, this space rock will be approximately 1.2 million miles away from the earth, which means there is no possibility of a potential collision.
The asteroid can be spotted with a telescope pointed at a star (HIP 8210) near the location of the large space rock. According to a report published on the Earth Sky website, the space rock will appear as a slow-moving star in front of other stars.
"When the asteroid is passing close to fixed background stars, the movement will be more noticeable," writes Earth Sky.
Space threats and earth's future
Even though NASA is continuously monitoring near-earth objects and potentially hazardous asteroids, several space experts believe that earth could be hit by a deadly space rock one day or the other.
Iain McDonald, a top space expert believes that dreaded events like asteroid hits are not confined to the past, and it may happen in the future too. Top physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had also shared similar views in the past, and he believes that the inevitable doomsday on the earth could be due to a space rock hit.
