What’s the story
A massive asteroid, dubbed 2018 BY6, is set to make a close approach to Earth today.
The space rock, which is about the size of an airplane at some 210 feet (nearly 64 meters) across, will come within 3.27 million kilometers of our planet.
While that may seem like a long way off, it’s actually considered quite close in astronomical terms.
The asteroid is traveling at a speed of around 26,700km/h.
Asteroid does not pose any threat to Earth
Asteroid 2018 BY6 belongs to the Aten group, a category of space rocks that often cross Earth’s orbit.
However, NASA has confirmed that this particular asteroid does not pose any threat to our planet.
For an asteroid to be considered dangerous, it must be over 85 meters wide and come within 7.4 million kilometers of Earth.
Although the asteroid is relatively close, it falls short of the size threshold for being classified as dangerous.
India is preparing for potential future asteroid threats
Despite the harmlessness of 2018 BY6, preparations for potential future threats continue.
India’s space agency, ISRO, is already looking ahead. Its former chairman, S. Somanath, has stressed the importance of robust planetary defense systems.
To this end, ISRO is planning future missions to land on asteroids and study potential threats as well as test deflection strategies.
Somanath hopes to collaborate with NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for the 2029 flyby of asteroid Apophis.