Look Up And See The Giant Asteroid Hurdling By Tomorrow, JUNE 27th

Yes, it’s real; it’s going to be right on top of you.

Photo by Vadim Sadovski on Unsplash

It’s coming!

It sounds like the plot device of a movie, probably starring Gerard Butler or Glen Powell, but this isn’t a movie. In the real world, we spend hundreds of billions a year paying attention to the biggest exestential threat to humanity. That would be the danger from outer space.

And now there’s a new threat on the horizon, literally. And it’s coming to us sooner than most of you found this article. However, there’s unlikely to be any reason to fear. It’s not likely to impact Earth this time. And that’s the most important part of this story.

This Time

For those of you who are going to jump off this article, let’s get the important facts out there fast.

On Saturday, June 27, an asteroid that’s five times the size of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or between 2300 and 5250 feet across, will make a close approach to Earth.

What would that do if it were to impact?

It would be capable of regional devastation. Inside New York City or Los Angeles, millions of people would be dead within the blink of an eye.

To put it into comparison, the Hiroshima atomic bombing yielded .015 megatons of power in the explosion. Should an asteroid of this size hit Earth, it would yield an approximate explosion in the **307,000 megaton range.**

Because the impact energy depends on the asteroid’s composition and speed, scientists usually estimate using typical values:

Diameter: 5,250 ft (1.6 km)

Density: ~3,000 kg/m³ (stony asteroid)

Impact velocity: ~20 km/s (44,700 mph)

Using those assumptions:

Mass: ≈ 6.4 trillion metric tons (6.4 × 1⁰¹² kg)

Impact energy: ≈ 1.3 × 1⁰²¹ joules

Equivalent TNT yield: ~307,000 megatons of TNT

— ChatGPT

This is an undreamt-of amount of power.

Fortunately

This time, the threat will miss us by over a million miles. And it’s going to be visible with small telescopes and decent pairs of binoculars. So, this Saturday, head outside after dark, if you’re fortunate enough to have a clear night, and do some stargazing. It shouldn’t be hard to find.

From my area of the world, specifically near 61401, if the skies clear, look for it in the predawn skies. It’ll be visible right around daybreak or just before. Depending on your area, you’re going to want to remember 7:14 EDT, and near the constellations Lyra in the northern sky and Norma in the Southern Sky.

Good luck and happy stargazing.