Massive Asteroid Set for Closest Approach to Earth Since 1914

Massive Asteroid , Set for Closest Approach , to Earth Since 1914.
On August 20, a humongous asteroid larger
than Giza's Great Pyramid will pass by
Earth for the first time in over 100 years.
On August 20, a humongous asteroid larger
than Giza's Great Pyramid will pass by
Earth for the first time in over 100 years.
'Newsweek' reports that the asteroid,
named 2019 AV13, is forecast to pass Earth
at a speed of about 20,000 miles per hour.
It is expected to pass at a distance
of about 3.2 million miles.
The last time the asteroid passed
this close to Earth was in 1914.
The next time it will approach
this close to our planet
will be in the year 2113.
'Newsweek' reports that most asteroids originate in the Asteroid Belt orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroids in the belt range in size from a few feet to the enormous Ceres which is 600 miles in diameter.
As gravitational interaction pulls asteroids
toward the Sun, it occasionally sends
them on a course near the Earth.
The 100 year interval between events
is purely a statistical construct based
on the number of objects of a particular
size, their orbits and an arbitrary miss
distance, so 100 years is an average. , Jay Tate, director of the The Spaceguard
Center observatory, via 'Newsweek'.
In fact it is just as likely that we'll
have another similar close approach
next year as we will in a century, Jay Tate, director of the The Spaceguard
Center observatory, via 'Newsweek'