Asteroid 2023 HY3 belongs to the Amor group of asteroids. (Representational pic)
Asteroids are celestial bodies in space that are thin, irregularly formed rocks made of metal or minerals that revolve around the Sun. Some of these asteroids are as old as the Universe itself, formed when several planets couldn't take shape because of cosmic collisions. This residual debris keep travelling the far depths of the Universe in different elliptical paths. They also threaten other planets by coming close to their orbit and sometimes colliding with other celestial bodies and creating huge craters on their surface. Scientists on Earth also keep warning about this looming threat.
This time, scientists at American space agency NASA have warned about an airplane-sized asteroid that is expected to make its closest approach to Earth today.
According to NASA's asteroid watch page, the 100-feet Asteroid 2023 HY3 will pass by Earth at a distance of 6.3 million kilometres. It is travelling at a speed of 23,596 kilometres per hour.
On the detailed page for HY3, NASA has mentioned that it belongs to the Amor group of asteroids, which are Earth-approaching asteroids. While they do not cross the Earth's orbit, the majority of them do cross the orbit of Mars.
NASA has also warned about two other asteroids - 2023 HV and 2018 VS6 - both the size of a house. While 2023 HV will make its closest approach to Earth at 1.38 million kilometres, the latter will pass by Earth at a distance of about 2 million kilometres.
NASA said that its Asteroid Watch tracks celestial bodies that will make closest approach to Earth. It tracks asteroids that are within 7.5 million kilometres of Earth
The space agency said that any object larger than about 150 metres that can approach the Earth to within this distance is termed a potentially hazardous object.