NASA was keeping an eye on a huge asteroid that’s set to make a close approach to Earth later this month.
The large space rock is called 2023 CL3 and it’s estimated to be up to 656 feet wide.
GettyAsteroid 2023 CL3 will make a close approach to Earth later this month[/caption]
Nasa has listed the asteroid on its Earth Close Approaches list.
That’s a table full of space rocks that need to be kept under investigation.
This includes Asteroid 2023 CL3, which is more than twice as big as the Statue of Liberty.
New York’s famous landmark stands at 305 feet when you include the base and 151 feet when you only include the female figure.
An asteroid of that size could do some serious damage if it were to collide with Earth.
That’s why if an asteroid comes within 4.65million miles and is larger than a certain size, it’s considered “potentially hazardous” by cautious space agencies.
Asteroid 2023 CL3 is expected to pass Earth on May 24 at a distance of just under 4.5million miles away.
That may sound pretty far away but in the grand scheme of space, this isn’t a large distance at all.
It’s estimated that the large asteroid will shoot past us safely at more than 16,000 miles per hour.
PLANS TO SAVE EARTH FROM ASTEROIDS
Some experts are worried that Earth isn’t yet ready to defend itself from potentially deadly asteroids.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk once sparked concern by tweeting: “a big rock will hit Earth eventually & we currently have no defense.”
Nasa is looking into some defense methods though.
That’s why it launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission last year.
This experiment proved that Nasa was able to alert the orbit of an asteroid called Dimorphos.