An asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid to fly close to Earth

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An asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza is set to fly close to Earth on Sunday, July 25, in what can be described as a relatively “close” approach, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The size of the asteroid, dubbed 2008 GO20, has not been definitively determined, but estimates place it between 97 to 220 meters, or 318 to 720 feet. For the competition, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, considered a colossal feat of architecture, is 138 meters, or 450 feet, tall. It could also be significantly larger than India’s famous Taj Mahal, which is 73 meters, or 240 feet, tall.

Because of flying close to Earth (about 2.8 million miles, or 4.5 million kilometers), the asteroid is considered a potential hazard. However, this is not a huge risk, as the distance is in fact approximately 20 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

In fact, Earth is completely safe from any asteroid threat for the next century, according to NASA. In fact, asteroids often fly fairly close to the planet. On July 31, another asteroid, called 2019 YM6, will also approach the planet – this asteroid is larger than 2008 GO20, although it will be farther away. However, there is still the potential for danger, as gravity tugs have the ability to alter the course of an object.

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And with such a large size and flying at around 18,000 miles per hour, or 29,000 kilometers per hour, an asteroid could certainly do some damage if it hits the planet.

The threat of an asteroid collision is still among the worst potential natural disasters that can happen to the planet, as humanity has little in the way of combating it.

One method developed by NASA and the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University is the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which will essentially watch a spacecraft “puncture” an asteroid in order to deflect it, and adjust the trajectory very slightly in order to alter its course, scheduled to be tested This project is coming soon, on an asteroid far from the planet. However, Airbus has proposed an immediate possible solution, which would essentially see TV satellites hijacked and redirected in order to divert an asteroid – and that solution could take just a few months to prepare and launch. Observe the sky for any asteroids approaching the planet, including using special “asteroid hunter” telescopes.

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