five asteroids january news

Yugant

five asteroids january news |
image source: pixabay

5 asteroids approaching Earth in January 2022, 1 the size of a tall building

US space agency NASA warns that there will be at least five asteroids approaching Earth in January 2022 and one of them is the size of a tall building.

The report was released by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a federally funded NASA research development laboratory operated by the California Institute of Technology.

But all of the asteroids expected this year will pass Earth for a significant distance and are very unlikely to hit our planet.

Asteroids are rocky objects that orbit the Sun; they are smaller than planets but larger than meteorites.

The following are 5 space rocks that will move toward Earth in January 2022, as announced by The Sun

1. Asteroid 2021 YQ

The first of five asteroids detected by NASA is called 2021 YQ.

The asteroid the size of a large commercial plane (about 200 feet) is expected to approach within 1,330,000 miles of Earth on January 5, 2022.

The last time 2021 YQ approached Earth orbit was on December 7, 1902.

2. Asteroid 2021 YX

Asteroid 2021 YX is also expected to approach Earth on January 5, 2022, although it is slightly further away at a distance of 2,390,000 miles.

This rock is around 100 feet wide - about the size of a somewhat more modest business plane.

This space rock has never moved toward Earth, as per JPL records.

3. Asteroid 2014 YE15

This 24-foot-wide stone is relied upon to move toward Earth on January 6, 2022, and is about the size of a transport.

Asteroid 2014 YE15 is expected to be the farthest, as its closest approach to Earth will be around 4,600,000 miles.

It's not the first time this asteroid has approached Earth, and it won't be the last, with NASA records showing it has returned nearly every year since at least 1905.

It will then, at that point, approach Earth in May 2022.

4. Asteroid 2020 AP1

Asteroid 2020 AP1 will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of approximately 1,080,000 miles on January 7, 2022.

Although this asteroid comes closest to Earth, it is fortunately the smallest at 13 feet wide (the size of a car).

The last time AP1 2020 moved toward Earth was in January 2020.

It will return in January 2024.

5. Asteroid 2013 YD48

NASA's report ends with asteroid 2013 YD48, which is expected to approach Earth on January 11, 2022.

This massive rock is 340 feet tall (London's famous clock tower, Big Ben is about 315 feet tall) and will be within 3,480,000 miles of Earth.

The last time this object approached Earth was in March 2014.

It should return to Earth in 2030.