Massive asteroid, stronger than nuke, expected to fly by Earth on December 27: Reports

A gigantic sized asteroid. considered to be stronger than a nuclear bomb, is heading towards Earth by late December, as per National Aeronautics and Administration's (NASA) asteroid tracker.  cosmic body's diameter is estimated to be between 84 and 190 meters, and researchers believe that it would be roughly equivalent to Tunguska asteroid, which had caused a 12-megatonne explosion in 1908. asteroid is expected to fly by Earth on December 27 at a distance of over 4.5 million kilometres, Jerusalem Post reported.  

asteroid, kwn as 2018 AH, has had a previous encounter with planet. asteroid passed Earth in 2018 at a distance of 296,758 kilometres, almost three-quarters of distance between Earth and Moon, but as it does t have its own light, went overlooked in spite of its ermous size, Sputnik reported. 

Asteroid falls in 'hazardous' Apollo category

According to NASA, 2018 AH is a near-Earth object. cosmic body has been classified as being in Apollo category, which is most hazardous. orbits of Apollo asteroids that cross Earth pose a collision risk. ncy, on or hand, believes it is improbable that this celestial body would hit Earth. 

However, if asteroid changes its course, n it has a probability of collision, and if it collides with earth, result will be devastating. In comparison, a 17-meter meteor that crashed in atmosphere above Russia's Chelyabinsk Region in 2013 caused $33 million in dams to nearly 7,000 structures, Sputnik reported.  

Furrmore, since approach of 2002 JE9 in 1971, 2018 AH will be biggest kwn asteroid to travel so near to earth. According to researchers, roughly kilometre-long asteroid 2001 WN5 will travel past Earth in 2028. It will be next encounter with such a giant. 

Meanwhile, deflection, which entails launching anything to gently modify an asteroid's trajectory, is one strategy for perhaps preventing an asteroid's collision. Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission, which is presently ongoing as a consequence of NASA and Applied Physics Laboratory's work, is most visible of se initiatives. NASA initiated 'DART mission,' a nearly one-year trip to collide with an asteroid, on vember 24. 

(Im: Pixabay/Representative)