MOSCOW, December 6Potentially dangerous asteroid 139622 (2001 QQ142) with a diameter of up to 1.2 kilometers will fly at a distance of approximately 5.5 million kilometers from Earth on December 6, according to the website of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
According to the website, the asteroid will come as close as possible to Earth December 6 at 21.00 UTC (00.00 Moscow time). The minimum distance between it and Earth is expected to be 0.036 astronomical units, or just over 5.5 million kilometers. Astronomical objects crossing the Earth's orbit at a distance of up to 0.05 astronomical units or less than 7.5 million kilometers are considered potentially dangerous.
The diameter of asteroid 139622 (2001 QQ142), according to scientists, can reach from 540 to 1200 meters. The object's speed is 6.66 kilometers per second.
Astronomers first noticed the asteroid on August 22, 2001. Having completed a revolution in its orbit, it returned to the “field of view” of scientists 22 years later.
The object belongs to Earth-crossers — asteroids crossing the Earth’s orbit. However, this does not mean that such an object will necessarily collide with a planet.
An astronomical unit is a unit of measurement of distances in space, equal to the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
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