For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

A Giant Asteroid 2010 WC9 Passed The Earth Today!

By Saaransh Arora

A lost asteroid about the size of a football pitch flew past the earth tonight. Its speed was estimated to be 28,655 miles per hour and left without any problem, as was considered a safe passing distance from Earth.

It is better known as the "Lost" asteroid, as the scientists lost the asteroid around 8 years ago and never got any report on this asteroid. According to the reports, on 8th May, the asteroid appeared on the radar and telescope approaching towards the planet.

All About Long-Lost Asteroid 2010 WC9

It came as close as 126,419 miles, which is half the distance to the moon. It was the biggest asteroid to come this close to Earth in 300 years.

The asteroid was originally discovered by 'The Catalina Sky Survey' in Arizona, USA. The scientists lost the asteroid when it "became too faint to see". The researchers had no information about this asteroid but are happy that it was far away from Earth.

Although the size of the asteroid is not very big, it is bigger than the Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia in 2013, which managed to hospitalise around 1000 people because the pressure broke the windows while entering the Earth's atmosphere.

It was live streamed on Northholt Branch Observatories' Facebook page, as humans could not see it with the naked eye, although people who had a small telescope could barely see it.

Read more about: space science facts