Three asteroids may explode in earth's sky today, will mid-air explosion cause danger?

asteroid collision
Asteroid collision NASA

NASA, the US space agency is apparently monitoring three near-earth objects (NEO), that are currently in a collision course trajectory with earth. As per experts, these three rogue space bodies will burn in the sky on Tuesday, October 1 but it is still unclear whether these possible explosions in the mid-air will cause any damages to earth.

NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) reveals that the first asteroid that is heading towards earth is 2019 SE8. This asteroid has an estimated diameter of 82 feet and it is apparently barrelling towards earth at a breathtaking speed of 51,000 miles per hour.

The second asteroid 2019 SD8 has a diameter of 66 feet and it is approaching Earth at a speed of 24,000 miles per hour. The third asteroid named 2018 FK5 has a comparatively lesser size when compared to the other two space bodies. Experts reveal that this asteroid has an estimated diameter of 43 feet and it is travelling at a velocity of 23,000 miles per hour.

These three asteroids have very wide orbits around earth and sun. However, at certain times, the orbit of these asteroids intersect with that of the earth and at these times, chances of a possible collision become quite high.

Even though these asteroids collide with the earth's atmosphere, the chances of these asteroids striking the earth's atmosphere are pretty low. However, there are several instances where mid-air explosions have caused damage to buildings and human life in the ground and the most classic example happened in 2013.

Six years ago, an asteroid estimated to be 66 feet long exploded over a region in Russia known as Chelyabinsk Oblast. The mid-air explosion happened at an altitude of 97,000 feet, but it was capable enough to damage more than 7,000 buildings. The explosion also injured more than 1500 people who lived in the area.

Several space experts strongly believe that humanity will face a doomsday scenario following an asteroid hit which will happen in the future. Dr Iain McDonald, a top scientist at the Cardiff University's school of earth and ocean sciences believes that dreaded events like doomsday asteroid hits are not confined to the past, and it will surely happen in the future too.

Related topics : Nasa
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