Asteroid 418135 (2008 AG33), double the height of the Empire State Building in New York City, will make its closest approach to Earth on April 28, at 02:46 (± < 00:01) or around 10:46 p.m. EDT on April 27. 

On this day, the space rock will pass our planet at a distance of approximately 3.24 million kilometers, equivalent to about 3.84 times the average distance between Earth and the Moon. 

There will be no risk of the asteroid hitting Earth during this approach.

Asteroids are space rocks that orbit the Sun and have small dimensions when compared to the planets in the Solar System. Discovered in January 2008, this asteroid is part of the Apollo subgroup, formed by objects whose orbits cross those of Earth.

According to NASA, estimates indicate that the object is between 330 m (1,083 feet) and 740 m (2,428 feet) in diameter, and should approach Earth at a speed of 10.39 km/s.

Although 418135 (2008 AG33) poses no risk of collision (on this or future approaches), it is considered a potentially hazardous asteroid (or “PHA”). 

It is important to note that all near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) with an intersecting Earth orbit distance of less than 0.05 astronomical units and a diameter greater than 150 meters are classified as PHAs.

These objects,  NASA says, deserve attention because of the possibility of repeated close encounters with Earth and other rocky planets.

These brief encounters, as well as other influences such as those generated by sunlight, can create modest deviations in asteroids’ orbits, which must be watched even though they are minor, especially when it comes to objects that represent a risk of colliding. reach the surface of the planet.

Source: NASA

Image Credit: NASA

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