The diameter of the asteroid is about 160 meters, which is about 20% larger than the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops.
On Friday, October 15, the asteroid 2021 SM3 will fly at a fairly close distance from Earth. Its diameter is about 160 meters, which is about 20% larger than the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops.
At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid is classified as a Near-Earth Object (NEO). The maximum distance that it will approach is 3 million km.
This is significantly less than to any planet in the solar system, but, all the same, 7.5 times the distance to the moon, so this space object will not pose an immediate threat to the Earth.
However, on October 20, another Apollo, the 230-meter asteroid 1996 VB3, will approach our planet at an even shorter distance. It will rush 2 million km from the Earth.
More than 100 tons of tiny space objects and space debris enter Earth’s orbit every day.
Anything smaller than a car can burn up in the atmosphere and is not considered a threat to the planet.
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