Earth to witness asteroid swingby over the southern sky on Thursday

A small asteroid by the name of 2012 TC4 will pass by the earth on Thursday just 42,000kms above the Antarctic continent. Various space agencies around the world, including NASA, will be tracking the approaching asteroid.

The 2012 TC4 is 15 to 30 meters in size and will come 42,000kms closer to the earth on October 12 at 11:12 am IST over the Antarctic sky. However, experts say that the asteroid will pose no threat to the earth. The asteroid was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii in 2012.

The asteroid drifted out of range of the asteroid-tracking telescopes shortly after it was detected. However, experts were able to predict the nearest approach of the asteroid to earth in 2017, which became true. The asteroid will give a very good opportunity to test the global asteroid impact early-warning system, which is supported by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

As of now, it has been predicted that the earth faces no major asteroid impact threat for the next 100 years, which should a relief for those looking for space-based conspiracy theories.

(source)