Asteroid as tall as the Empire State Building to close in on Earth, says NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently shared an important piece of information about an asteroid that will soon be passing near the Earth's surface. This large asteroid is heading towards the Earth and is said to be bigger than the Empire State Building in Manhattan. The asteroid will be closing in with the Earth on June 6.

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NASA is tracking an asteroid

As per a leading news source, an asteroid taller than the Empire State Building will be passing close to the surface of the Earth. The scientists are not expecting any kind of collision with the Earth, says the article. It will zoom past safely on June 6. Even so, the asteroid will be kept under careful observation to be aware that it is not entering the Earth's atmosphere.

While various news sources claim it to be taller than the Empire State Building, the information given on NASA's official website is different. The official website reveals that the name of the Asteroid is 163348 (2002 NN4). It is said to be 320 Metres, i.e. 1,100 feet. On the other hand, the Empire State Building is 380 Metres, which amounts to 1,250 feet. These measurements do not include the antenna that sits atop the building. Thus, while the news of asteroid being taller than the Empire State Building might be untrue, it can be said that it is almost as tall as the Empire State Building.

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(Source: NASA's website)

The official website shows the asteroid to be of a stadium's size. Another page on NASA's official website, from the Center of Near Earth Object Studies, shows the asteroid's diameter is 270 m to 570 m. While the overall size of the asteroid might be bigger than the Empire State Building, it is not taller than the latter. 

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The asteroid is travelling with the speed of 11,200 miles per hour. Its closest approach to the Earth will be in 5,090,000 km i.e. 3,160,000 miles away. The stadium-sized asteroid will be closing in the Earth's surface, zooming past it on June 6. June 6 will see two more asteroids zooming past Earth along with 163348 (2002 NN4). The sizes of the other two are smaller as one is 110 feet and the other is 150 feet.

(Source: Center of Near Earth Object Studies website)

Many people took to their Twitter to talk about the asteroid's proximity towards the Earth. With the on-going coronavirus crisis and many other natural disasters happening in the world, people joked about how this could yet be another potential threat. The scientists, however, have not sent out any warnings about the same.

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