Asteroid 2020 SY4 to swing by Earth on September 28, says NASA

Asteroids have been a subject of fear and trepidation ever since humans learnt about their existence. A giant-sized asteroid is capable of destroying life on Earth. Hence, it is no surprise that NASA has been tracking the course of several hundreds of asteroids ever-since its formation. Aside from deploying several satellites to track the movement of these countless space rocks, NASA maintains an Asteroid widget on its official website. The widget updates regularly, informing us which asteroid will make a close approach to earth on that day. Read on to find out about Asteroid 2020 SY4 which is set to fly by close to Earth on September 28.

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How close will the Asteroid come to Earth?

According to a report on NASA’s official website, at its closest approach, asteroid 2020 SY4 will be only 0.0048 astronomical units away from Earth’s surface. This is 4,50,000 miles only. The asteroid will be at its closest distance from Earth at 18:06 UTC, which is 11:06 am Monday, Pacific Time (PT). In IST this is 11:36 pm Monday, Indian Standard Time (IST).

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How big is the asteroid?

The asteroid is quite small in size as it is only 36 feet, which makes it as big as a school bus. However, due to its close flyby, it has been tagged as a Near-Earth Object (NEO). Asteroid 2020 SY4 has been classified among the class of Apollo asteroids. 

The Apollo asteroids are a bunch of near-Earth asteroids named after the 1862 Apollo asteroid. The asteroid was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. Both these asteroids are the size of an aeroplane. Asteroid 2020 RE8 is 93 feet. Asteroid RA2 is 68 feet.

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According to NASA after September 28, 2020, 2020 SY4 is expected to return September 7, 2097. And after 2097, it will be returning in 2149. The first time 2020 SY4 flew by close to Earth was on September 12, 1981. Its second close approach was on May 20, 1984.

Read | School-bus sized Asteroid 2020 SW to pass close to Earth on September 24

Asteroid 2020 SW's close flyby 

According to a report on NASA’s JPL website, Asteroid 2020 SW flew by close to Earth on Sept 24. At its closest approach, the space rock was 0.00019 astronomical units away from Earth’s surface. In miles, this is 17661.6 miles. While it might seem like a huge distance, but in anatomical terms, this was one of the closest asteroid approaches in recent times. This distance was also well below many of the communications satellites orbiting our planet. The closest approach occurred over the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

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