Asteroid 2020 XR: 1,200ft space rock skims past Earth after 47 years

A "potentially hazardous" asteroid skimmed past Earth at 12:27 am ET on December 4 (10:57 am IST). The huge space rock, about the size of a football stadium, reached a minimum distance of 2.2 million kilometres from Earth, travelling at a speed of 44,300 kilometres per hour. This was the closest it had ever come to our planet. The encounter came a day after an asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere over Siberia.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said that people interested in catching a glimpse of the asteroid can see it live via the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP). 

Asteroid 2020 XR came eerily close to Earth but astronomers measured its trajectory and said that it wouldn't pose any threat to Earth. But it is extremely huge and measures approximately 1,200 feet in diameter, big enough to devastate a small city.

The space rock is classified as a near-Earth object (NEO) and has paid us a visit in the past as well. Its last trip to Earth was in 1977, long before it was discovered by scientists. However, at the time, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), it was 16 million km away from Earth.

Also Read: Asteroid in Siberia: Fourth imminent impactor of 2024 strikes over Yakutia

ESA said in a statement that when asteroid 2020 XR was discovered, scientists thought that it would impact Earth in 2028. "When astronomers first discovered 2020 XR, they thought it had a small chance of impacting Earth in 2028," Juan Luis Cano, coordinator of the ESA's Near-Earth Object Coordination Center, said.

However, they carried out more calculations and looked at its history, after which they concluded that it would not harm the planet in any way. In fact, it would be even farther from us than its last trip. Asteroid 2020 XR will be at a minimum distance of 18.2 million km when it flies by in 2028. 

In the year 2196, which is 172 years later, it would once again be extremely close to Earth. 

Asteroid over Siberia

On December 3, Earth greeted its fourth imminent impactor of the year 2024. The asteroid hit the planet over Siberia hours after being discovered. The small space rock measured around 1.6 to 4 feet, about the size of a small bicycle tyre. It was initially named C0WEPC5 and was later officially designated 2024 XA1.

NASA regularly keeps an eye on incoming asteroids and ones that might pose a threat to Earth. Any NEOs that are observed to come within 7,500,000 km of Earth and are larger than 500 feet are considered to be "potentially hazardous."