Boeing 777-sized asteroid speeding towards Earth! NASA reveals size and speed

With its advanced tech such as the NEOWISE telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Pans-STARRS1 and Catalina Sky Survey, NASA has revealed details about an asteroid that will come close to Earth. An asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2023 TC1, is on its way towards Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet today, October 13.

NASA, ESA and other space agencies have a suite of ground and space-based telescopes and observatories to track and monitor asteroids. Despite the presence of these technological marvels, an asteroid snuck past all of them! 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.

On September 8, 2016, NASA launched a historic mission - the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx). It was launched to study a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) called Bennu, which has a 1/2700 chance of impacting Earth between 2175 and 2195. After a 6-year journey that involved landing on the asteroid and collecting samples from its surface, the spacecraft finally returned the samples last month, after which they underwent a “nitrogen purge”. Today, NASA will finally open up the canister returned by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and show off the asteroid sample to the world in an event that will be live-streamed. You can watch it online here.

To discover, monitor and study asteroids in space, NASA has several space telescopes and ground-based observatories in place. These include the famous Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope. Moreover, spacecraft such as Dawn, OSIRIS-REx, and Hayabusa2 have also helped in studying these ancient space rocks. As of now, there are 1,298,210 known asteroids in space and while not all of them are dangerous, some of them can get knocked off their orbit due to interaction with a planet's gravitational field such as Jupiter, and head towards Earth for potential impact. Therefore, to remove the uncertainties around the asteroid's approach, it is imperative that we track them.

Did you know that artificial intelligence (AI) is aiding in the discovery and study of asteroids? After aiding various industries across sectors such as education, healthcare, engineering and more, AI could also potentially help protect Earth against asteroids. According to a study published by the University of Washington, an algorithm, named HelioLinc3D, helped researchers discover a potentially hazardous asteroid. Asteroid 2022 SF289, which is almost 600 feet wide, was discovered during the algorithm's test in Hawaii and has not been deemed as dangerous in the foreseeable future.

NASA has several space and ground-based telescopes in place to discover, track, and study asteroids. But if you're a budding astronomer, you can help the space agency too! NASA's new Daily Minor Planet Project allows astronomers and skywatchers to help discover new asteroids and track them in data sets. To capture asteroids, the Daily Minor Project uses the NASA-funded, University of Arizona-based Catalina Sky Survey which captures nearly 1000 images every night. Due to this volume, NASA scientists fall short of personnel to study these images. After looking at the image, you just have to click on a yes or a no button and add a comment if necessary, before moving on to the next image.

Asteroids often pass Earth at close distances, posing a threat to the planet with their terrifying approaches. Most of them might seem like they're just floating rocks in space, but did you know asteroids have differing compositions? These space rocks can be classified into 3 types based on their structural composition. The most commonly found asteroids are S-type, which are made up of carbon-rich substances. On the other hand, S-type asteroids are made up mainly of silicate minerals and are less common. M-type asteroids are the least prevalent and they are primarily composed of metal.

Yesterday, an unstable sunspot named AR3450 was spotted coming towards the Earth. It was estimated that any explosions within this region that could lead to a coronal mass ejection (CME) would be geoeffective and could lead to a solar storm event. However, it has not gone off so far and no solar flare activity has been noted. While astrophysicists are keeping an eye on it, a new report has highlighted that the month of September witnessed as many as three separate solar storm events, with two of them being significantly intense to the point of reaching the mid-latitude regions. With the peak of the 11-year Solar Cycle, the Solar Maximum, approaching soon, will the month of October be worse? We take a look at the data from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to know what's coming our way.

Over the course of Earth's 4.5 billion-year-old history, there have been several major asteroid impacts that have had a significant impact on the future of the planet and helped humanity to emerge as a dominant force. Perhaps the most consequential impact occurred almost 65 million years ago when a mammoth 12-kilometer-wide asteroid crashed into the surface and obliterated nearly 70 percent of Earth's species including dinosaurs. The crater where the asteroid crashed can still be found today in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Such large asteroids have the potential to cause global devastation if they crash. Fortunately, NASA and other space agencies now have an arsenal of space and ground-based telescopes to discover and track them.

NASA has been working on its Psyche mission for the last few years but hasn't been able to launch it yet. The space mission to the 16 Psyche asteroid has been delayed several times now, with the most recent happening on October 5. The $1.2 billion mission was set to launch via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA's Discovery missions but was delayed, giving NASA more time to reverify parameters that control the rocket's nitrogen cold gas thrusters. For the unaware, the 16 Psyche asteroid is made up of gold, nickel, and iron deposits and is supposedly worth more than Earth's economy.

Asteroids are in constant focus of most space scientists due to their potential for causing global destruction. Asteroids are space rocks that follow distinct orbits in the vastness of space. According to NASA, some of these ancient cosmic rocks pose a potential threat of colliding with Earth. Although most of them reside in the primary asteroid belt situated between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, some of these space rocks approach Earth, with some coming within just a few hundred thousand kilometers of our planet. This proximity raises concerns about the possibility of these asteroids impacting Earth. And now, NASA has informed about a humongous asteroid that is traveling towards Earth rapidly. This is a 2200-foot asteroid that has been designated as 349507 (2008 QY).

NASA tracks all asteroids that stray close to the Earth because they could pose a potential danger. Apart from that, information about the origin of various asteroids can solve multiple mysteries about the universe. Recently NASA has successfully brought back a chunk of asteroid Bennu from space with the help of ORISIS- REX spacecraft. This asteroid sample is a huge achievement in the field of space exploration. Now, NASA is on its next asteroid mission called Psyche. According to NASA, this mission will study this metallic asteroid. The asteroid orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. As explained by NASA, the Psyche asteroid has a nickel-iron core that was essential in creating our solar system. One of the mission's main objectives is to get as close as 280 kilometers to Asteroid Psyche. The mission will help reveal various facts about the solar system and more.