Planet killer asteroid to come close to Earth at whopping speed of 63,180 kmph - India Today

2012 KY3 has been classified as a Near Earth Object (NEO) and is between half a kilometer to just over a kilometer in size.

The asteroid has a four-year-long orbit around the Sun. (Photo: Getty)

By India Today Science Desk: A mega-asteroid is set to come close to Earth in a near approach as satellites gaze at it's close arrival. Asteroid 436774 (2012 KY3) or 2012 KY3 will rendezvous with Earth on April 13 passing at a distance of 47,84,139 kilometers from the planet on its way around the Sun.

Asteroids are rocky fragments left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

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2012 KY3 has been classified as a Near Earth Object (NEO) and is between half a kilometer to just over a kilometer in size. An asteroid is classified as a near-Earth object when its distance from our planet is less than 1.3 times the distance from Earth to the Sun (the Earth-Sun distance is about 93 million miles), according to the Nasa Joint Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The orbital path of asteroid 2012 KY3. (Photo: JPL)

The asteroid falls into the category of the planet killer objects as asteroids bigger than a kilometer in width have the capability of surviving entry into Earth's thick atmosphere. 2012 KY3 will however pose no threat to Earth as it will safely pass by Earth from a distance of over 47 lakh kilometers.

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While the asteroid was discovered in 2012, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has tracked its movement since as early as 1904. The last time this asteroid came close to Earth was in January 2019 when it came as close as 6,82,88,436 kilometers from the planet. The next time it will come this close to the planet will be in 2025.

The asteroid has a four-year-long orbit around the Sun.

While the asteroid will safely zoom past Earth, scientists have developed capabilities to diver an asteroid if it was on a collision course with Earth. Nasa recently tested its asteroid-killer mission the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which slammed into an asteroid to divert it from its path slightly to change it orbit.

DART was the first-ever space mission to demonstrate asteroid deflection by a kinetic impactor.

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Edited By:

Sibu Kumar Tripathi

Published On:

Apr 12, 2023

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2023-04-12 06:11:59Z
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