160-foot asteroid charging towards Earth; NASA reveals its speed, distance and more

NASA defines asteroids as ancient space rocks left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. While most of these space rocks are located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, the orbits of some asteroids bring them closer to Earth. Apart from the asteroid belt, there is the Kuiper belt which has a huge number of comets and asteroids in it too. Notably, in recent years, there have been several close calls with asteroids that have passed close to our planet. If they come close enough, some of the asteroids are termed as Near-Earth Objects.

Since asteroids are an ever-present threat, apart from NASA, other organizations too are engaged in efforts to establish protocols for planetary protection against such threats. The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) have joined hands in order to eliminate planetary threats. While IAWN is tasked with establishing protocols and developing communication plans to aid in decision-making, SMPAG is responsible for selecting the technology that is needed for the deflection of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) like asteroids and finalize the measures for planetary defense.

One threat that is constantly looming on Earth is the danger from asteroids. Asteroid threat has been present for millions of years now. These ancient space rocks have periodically collided with Earth, shaping its history and causing the extinction of untold number of species. Asteroids were first discovered and recognised as such on January 1, 1801.

Solar activity has been on the rise, with recent developments stoking concerns about potential repercussions for our planet. On September 17th, as predicted, Earth was hit by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that was spewed out by the Sun earlier. While the initial impact did not trigger a geomagnetic storm, there's a possibility of minor G1-class storms being sparked today in the coming hours as Earth continues to traverse through the CME.

NASA has issued a warning about a particular asteroid designated as Asteroid 2016 LY48. This near-Earth asteroid is expected to make its closest approach to Earth tomorrow, September 16. According to NASA, this space rock is approaching Earth at a fearsome speed of 38997 kilometers per hour. It is expected to pass Earth on September 16 at a distance of about 1.9 million kilometers.

In a recent Night City Wire stream, CD Projekt RED announced that Cyberpunk 2077’s Update 2.0 will be going live on September 21, while also showcasing some of the builds that players will be able to work towards courtesy of its revamped progression mechanics. But of course, the main course at the stream was the action RPG’s upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty, and plenty of details were revealed for it as well, courtesy of Idris Elba himself, who’s playing Solomon Reed, a key character in the expansion.

Redeeming trade codes to acquire specific Pokémon has always been a practice that many players indulge in while playing any of the mainstream Pokémon games, and this is also the case with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Fortunately, we already have a plethora of codes available for the recently released Generation IX games that players can utilize.

Asteroids that pass Earth at close proximity present a potential threat of collision with Earth. In fact, there have been several close calls with asteroids recently. In February, a 2 feet wide rock broke into pieces about 33 kilometers above the Earth's surface. On July 6, a meteor crashed, bounced off a roof, and hit a woman in the chest who was sipping coffee on her terrace in the village of Alsace in Eastern France. Now, another meteor and its impact crater was reportedly spotted by a dog walker on Portmarnock Beach in Ireland.

For millions of years, asteroids have posed a threat to Earth. Although humanity only discovered its first-ever asteroid on January 1, 1801, these ancient space rocks have time and again impacted Earth's surface, altering the course of history. To understand asteroids better, and study the ones not located in the asteroid belt, NASA launched its Lucy mission on October 16, 2021, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is aimed at studying the Trojans, a group of asteroids that orbit the Sun in two groups, according to NASA. It is built to seek out trojan asteroids millions of kilometers from Earth. Recently, the spacecraft caught a glimpse of its first Trojan asteroid, Dinikinesh, which is about half a kilometer wide.

Today, New World opens up its PTR for the upcoming Rise of the Angry Earth expansion. 

After numerous delays, NASA's Psyche mission is set to lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Speaking about this upcoming asteroid mission, Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, “One month out, we are in great shape”. For the unaware, the Psyche mission will study an asteroid known as 16 Psyche, which is made up of gold, nickel, and iron deposits. According to NASA, it could be worth more than the world's economy put together! Other than its gold-rich structure, the outer surface of this asteroid is nickel-rich which resembles an early planet's core.

NASA, ESA and other space agencies have multiple ground and space-based observatories and telescopes for discovering and tracking asteroids. Despite this, one asteroid snuck past these advanced technological marvels! The asteroid, named Asteroid 2023 NT1, made its closest approach to Earth on July 13 when it entered Earth's 60,000-mile radius, which is 4 times closer than the Moon! It was not a small rock either, as scientists later revealed it was nearly 200 feet wide, about 4 times the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid that caused massive damage in Russia. It was at last found by the Asteroid Terrestrials-Impacts Last Alert System (ATLAS) observatory in South Africa on July 15.