Judgment Day: Four asteroids to fly past Earth on Yom Kippur - NASA
| Author | AARON REICH |
| Published date | 03 October 2022 |
| Publication title | Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel) |
The four asteroids that are set to pass the Earth around Yom Kippur have been designated 2022 SM21, 2022 SO11, 2018 VG and 2022 SJ28, according to the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
How big is the asteroid coming towards Earth in 2022?
As it turns out, all four of the asteroids passing by Earth on Yom Kippur are pretty small, says NASA.
The first one coming, asteroid 2022 SM21, is estimated to be anywhere between 9 and 20 meters in width.
To put that in perspective, 20 meters is around half the size of the average telephone pole.
However, while asteroid 2022 SM21 may not measure up to the other three Yom Kippur asteroids in terms of size, it leaves all of them in its figurative cosmic dust in terms of speed.
According to NASA CNEOS calculations, asteroid 2022 SM21 is barreling towards Earth's orbit at a speed of around 15.07 kilometers per second, which is roughly equal to 54,252 kilometers per hour or around 44 times the speed of sound.
To put this insane metric of speed into context, that's around 22 times faster than a Patriot missile.
The next asteroid coming is also on the small side. Asteroid 2022 SO11 is barely any larger than its predecessor, measuring somewhere between 11 meters and 25 meters wide. In terms of speed, it dips below the other one as well, clocking in at around 12.41 kilometers per second, roughly equal to 44,676 kilometers per hour or a little over 36 times the speed of sound.
These two asteroids are both set to pass the Earth on the day that Yom Kippur starts - October 4. The first asteroid to pass by on Yom Kippur itself on October 5 is 2018 VG. This asteroid is even smaller, measuring between 8.8 meters and 20 meters, and only flying at a relatively modest speed of around 6.67 kilometers per second, or around 24,012 kilometers per hour. That's still fast, almost 20 times the speed of sound, but still far slower than the other two.
The last asteroid coming on Yom Kippur, asteroid 2022 SJ28, is the largest of the group, ranging somewhere between 14 meters and 32 meters wide – although that is still on the smaller side. It's also only marginally faster than its predecessor, clocking in at 9.24 kilometers per second.
Will an asteroid hit Earth in 2022?
Yom Kippur is traditionally when...
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