A huge asteroid that goes by the nickname the “Beast” will fly close to Earth this Sunday Morning, June 8. Asteroid 2014 HQ124 is larger than a football field but does not threaten our planet, according to the calculations of astronomers, as it will pass at a distance which is almost three times the Earth-Moon distance.
The discovery of this huge asteroid, with a diameter of about 350 meters, was on April 23 2014 by the infrared space telescope WISE. The “Beast” traveling at a speed of 14 km/s (31,000 mph) will reach its closest point from Earth at 1:56 a.m. EDT (0556 GMT) .
Astronomers pointed out the fact that the existence of such a giant asteroid was unknown until now and had been noticed just two months before it passed relatively close to Earth. This is another reminder of the dangers that threaten our planet at any time and moment.
“The HQ124 is at least ten times larger, maybe 20 times, the asteroid that injured a thousand people last year in Chelyabinsk, Siberia. If you were to hit us, the energy released will not be measured in kilotonnes, such as atomic bombs put an end to the Second World War, but in megatons, as then hydrogen bombs, “said astronomer Bom Berman of astronomical observatory Slooh.
NASA claims it has discovered more than 90% of mountain-sized asteroids or other celestial bodies with a diameter greater or close to the seize of Earth. The damage would happen to our planet from asteroids hitting so great, it would be disastrous
Orbit of 2014 HQ124 :
Smaller asteroids are more difficult to identify. It is claimed that around 15,000 asteroids of about 140 meters wide and only 30% of these has been found. There are over one million small asteroids, 30 meters wide, approaching our planet and less than 1% has been detected.
Source:Space
