You might be fascinated by how immense the famous Taj Mahal mausoleum from India is. The building measures 73 meters in height, it’s constructed in a 42 acres area, and it stands on a platform with a height of 50 meters.
Now that you know how big the Taj Mahal is, you must find out that the 2008 GO20 asteroid is even bigger: roughly three times. But the even more frightening aspect is that the space rock is hurtling towards our planet at a speed of 18,000 mph, according to CNBC TV18.
There’s no need to worry
The 2008 GO20 asteroid will fly past Earth today, July 24, missing our planet by the distance of 2,605,509 miles. In other words, there’s no need to panic, hide in an underground bunker, and start repenting for your sins more than ever.
NASA seems to have it covered when it comes to dangerous asteroids from the proximity of Earth. The space agency wrote on Twitter:
Asteroids are rocky remnants from the beginning of our solar system, & @NASA is constantly watching the sky to find & track potential hazards. As of June 2021, 26,110 near-Earth asteroids have been discovered.
More about @NASA’s #PlanetaryDefense efforts below! #AsteroidDay pic.twitter.com/WqD770ya7I
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) June 30, 2021
The main problem is that humanity doesn’t have too many ideas for what to do if a “global killer” asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, other than freaking out. For the moment, scientists don’t possess the right technology to get rid of such a threat, but what’s for sure is that they’re looking for solutions. And of course, we can realistically hope that they’ll come up with some useful plans in the near future.
Perhaps the 2008 GO20 asteroid wouldn’t wipe out life on Earth if it were on a collision course with our planet. However, you still wouldn’t want the space rock landing anywhere near your town or backyard.