On February 14th, the day of love, a massive asteroid is set to pass by Earth, according to NASA. The US space agency, which keeps a close eye on any asteroids approaching our planet, has stated that the huge space rock named Asteroid 2023 CP will pass by Earth at a distance of just 4.09 million miles.
Designated as a “close approach” by NASA, the asteroid belongs to the Amor group and was discovered on February 8, 2023. It takes 624 days to complete one orbit around the Sun and its perihelion, or closest point to the Sun, is located 153 million kilometres from its aphelion, the farthest point from the Sun, which is located at a distance of 275 million kilometres.
NASA’s CNEOS agency predicts that the asteroid will be moving towards Earth at a speed of roughly 12341 km/h and its closest approach is expected to take place around 23:15 in the early morning hours of February 14th.
NASA classifies any space rock larger than 150 meters and travelling closer to Earth than 4.6 million miles as a potentially hazardous object, making this 110-foot asteroid a potential danger. NASA uses both ground and space-based observatories to monitor asteroids and detect any potential threats. Some of these observatories include the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), supported by NASA, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and the NEOWISE mission.
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