Christmas gift: An asteroid the size of a 10-story building is hurtling towards Earth at a speed of 23,590 km/h.

A massive asteroid was only detected on December 12, and it is already approaching our planet.

https://focus.ua/technologies/685049-podarok-na-rozhdestvo-na-skorosti-23-590-km-ch-k-zemle-letit-asteroid-razmerom-s-10-etazhnyy-dom2024-12-23 07:42:37

NASA scientists have announced that on December 24 at 4:56 AM Kyiv time, a massive asteroid, comparable in height to a 10-story building, will come dangerously close to Earth. It is traveling at a speed of 23,590 km/h. However, this is not the only space rock approaching our planet this week, reports Daily Mail.

According to NASA's statement, the asteroid 2024 XN1, which was discovered on December 12, will approach Earth at a dangerous distance on Tuesday, December 24, Christmas Eve. This means it will be closer to Earth than 7.5 million kilometers. At this distance, these space rocks are considered potentially hazardous.

Scientists estimate that asteroid 2024 XN1 measures between 29 and 70 meters and is expected to pass by Earth at a distance of 7.21 million kilometers. Its speed is impressive—23,590 km/h. The asteroid 2024 XN1 will be 18 times farther from Earth than the Moon, therefore, according to forecasts, there is no threat of it colliding with our planet.

Calculations by scientists indicate that if asteroid 2024 XN1 were to collide with Earth, the impact would be equivalent to the explosion of 12 million tons of TNT. In this case, everything within an area of approximately 2,000 square kilometers around the impact epicenter would be destroyed.

The asteroid 2024 XN1 will next approach our planet in January 2032 at a distance of 4.7 million kilometers, which is closer than its upcoming flyby. This space rock is expected to fly by even closer to Earth in December 2016, when it will be separated from our planet by 3.4 million kilometers.

According to NASA's report, on December 25, another asteroid of similar size, named 2021 BA2, will pass by Earth at an even closer distance. The space rock, discovered in 2021, is estimated by scientists to measure between 30 and 70 meters.

At 11:19 PM Kyiv time, it is expected to come within 2.76 million kilometers of our planet. The risk of this asteroid colliding with Earth is nearly zero.