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Biggest Asteroid of 2020 Flew Between Earth & Moon Undetected, Scientists Realised It 2 Days Later!

Biggest Asteroid of 2020 Flew Between Earth & Moon Undetected, Scientists Realised It 2 Days Later!

Asteroids fly past Earth all the time and thanks to the scientists, we know the exact time and all the necessary details. However,  in June, one huge asteroid flew so close to Earth that at one point of time, it was nearer to the planet than the moon. Also Read - Yes! Asteroids Killed The Dinosaurs And Not Volcanoes, Says Study; Researchers Say 'It's the Only Plausible Explanation'

But surprisingly, astronomers and scientists didn’t realise it until 2 days later! Only on June 7, scientists made this discovery when astronomers in Hawaii first noticed the huge asteroid.

Named as asteroid 2020 LD and measuring nearly 100 metres in diameter, the asteroid travelling at a speed of 60,826 miles per hour, came even closer to the earth than the moon on June 5.

So, considering its huge size, if 2020 LD had hit Earth, it could have caused extensive damage.

According to a report published in the Earth Sky, this is the biggest asteroid to have come within one lunar distance of Earth this year and biggest to have gotten this close since 2011.

It’s also the 9th largest asteroid ever to fly past Earth.

The European Space Agency (ESA), revealed that the space rock was just 0.8 lunar distances away from Earth, meaning if the moon is 384, 317 km away from Earth, asteroid 2020 LD 307,454 km away when it flew by.


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