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Moscow: A celestial body 20 metres in diameter will pass dangerously close
-- 8,620 km -- to the Earth's surface in 13 years, an Italian
astronomer has said.
The flyby of the asteroid 2013 GM3 April 14, 2026, may bring it
within 15,000 km of the Earth's centre, or 8,620 km from the
planet's surface, said astronomer Francesco Manca of the Sormano
Astronomical Observatory near Milan.
The latter figure is slightly more than one radius of the planet,
and within the geostationary orbit of 35,700 km.
The 2013 GM3 was discovered in April by Mount Lemmon Observatory
in Arizona, but earlier calculations by NASA showed it would pass
39,000 km from the Earth's surface.
The asteroid may pass as far as 74,000 km from the Earth, Manca
said.
More observations are needed to better determine the asteroid's
trajectory, the astronomer added.
NASA estimates the probability of 2013 GM3's collision with Earth
between 2028 and 2113 at 0.018 percent, or 1 in 5,560.
2013 GM3's size is comparable to that of the meteorite that
exploded in the air over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in
February, injuring about 1,500 people, most of whom were injured
by glass shattering as a result of the shockwave from the
meteorite's passing.
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