A giant asteroid that is estimated to be worth billions of dollars will approach Earth this weekend, to be precise on Saturday (11/12) tomorrow. But there is nothing to worry about because this asteroid will pass with a safe distance.
The egg-shaped asteroid is known as 4660 Nereus. With a diameter of 330 meters, the size of this asteroid is larger than the Eiffel Tower, as quoted from LiveScience.
This asteroid will approach Earth at a speed of 23,700 km/hour. But the possibility of this asteroid endangering Earth is very small because its closest distance to Earth is about 3.86 million km or about 10 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
Due to its size and distance from Earth, NASA classifies asteroid 4660 Nereus as a potentially dangerous object. NASA does classify all asteroids that approach Earth at a distance of about 7.5 million km and measuring about 140 meters as dangerous objects.
First discovered in 1982, 4660 Nereus is known to orbit the sun once every 1.82 years. On its way around the sun, this asteroid stops by Earth every 10 years.
Because 4660 Nereus frequently visits the region around Earth, NASA and the Japanese space agency (JAXA) had planned to send the Hayabusa mission to this asteroid to collect samples. But finally the asteroid 25143 Itokawa was chosen as the target.
NASA estimates that the asteroid 4660 Nereus will again approach Earth on March 2, 2031 and November 2050. On November 14, 2060, this asteroid will approach Earth at a very close distance of 1.2 million km.
Interestingly, the asteroid 4660 Nereus could also be a mining target in space. According to Asterank data, this asteroid is estimated to contain nickel, iron, and cobalt whose value reaches USD 4.71 billion .
If another asteroid approaches Earth and is potentially threatening, the space agency has already developed a solution. On November 23, NASA launched a space probe as part of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which will crash into an asteroid to change its course.