Asteroid Warning: Space Rock On ESA's Risk List To Hit Earth In September

Earth possesses a great threat from asteroids, as they could be civilization-threatening if they collide with our planet. Recently, a NASA Asteroid 2019 KY, passed by our planet and there might be another one to follow. ESA predicts that Asteroid 2006 QV89 has a 1-in-7000 chance of colliding with Earth in September this year.

ESA has categorized the upcoming asteroid under the risk list, which is a catalog for space objects for which the space agency has detected a non-zero probability. The space rock measures 40 meters in diameter and has been listed on the fourth spot in the risk list.

The European Space Agency is currently working on analyzing the trajectory of the asteroid, and there are very low chances of the space rock reaching the Earth. ESA also notes that the asteroid is on the risk list but not on the priority list.

The asteroid was first discovered in 2006 and is a near-earth asteroid. The space rock has been on the risk list for around 13 years, said ESA. Its distance from Earth is 0.45 AU which is almost 4.2 million miles.

Previously, a space rock called the 1999 KW4 passed by the Earth and it was so huge it brought along its own moon as well. The asteroid was around 1.5 km wide which is around three times the size of its moon, which is around 0.5 km. At its closest, the asteroid was more than 3 million miles away from our planet. The next approach that the 1999 KW4 will make with the Earth will be in 2036.

Besides, NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX are working closely to develop a Double Asteroid Redirection Test (D.A.R.T). This is an attempt to stop an asteroid that is hurtling at great speeds towards the Earth. NASA hopes to detect 90 percent of space rocks ranging from 140 meters and above using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile.