• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Huge asteroid to hit earth’s atmosphere this week

Home> News

Updated 18:51 24 Jan 2023 GMTPublished 09:44 24 Jan 2023 GMT

Huge asteroid to hit earth’s atmosphere this week

The asteroid was only discovered a few days ago.

Ali Condon

Ali Condon

An asteroid hurtling towards the Earth's atmosphere has just recently been discovered by NASA.

Asteroid 2023 BU was spotted by NASA's Centre for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) on Saturday (21 January), and is scheduled to shoot past us on Friday morning (27 January) at around 12.30am.

The rock will skim about 2,500 miles above the Earth's surface, making it the fourth-nearest of past and future space rocks to come close to our planet.

An asteroid is scheduled to hit the Earth's atmosphere this week.
Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

Advert

That's so close to Earth that it's just under a three percent average distance between the Earth and the moon.

Even if this asteroid did have a trajectory for planet Earth, there wouldn't be too much to worry about since, according to the CNEOS, this little asteroid measures between 12.4ft and 27.8ft.

According to the space experts over at NASA, any asteroids smaller than about 82 ft would be more likely to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere than hit the ground.

Since the asteroid is expected to pass by Earth's atmosphere, astronomy buffs will be able to spot Asteroid 2023 BU shoot past our skies, thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project.

The VTP is a set of robotic telescopes based in Ceccano, Italy, that are accessible online, set up for you to have your very own astronomical experience from the comfort of your home.

VTP's live feed of the asteroid will start on Thursday, 26 January, at 7.15pm.

The asteroid would be too small to do any damage, even if it did hit Earth.
Tony Lilley / Alamy Stock Photo

And, speaking of impressive astronomy equipment, a new handheld laser funded by NASA has been developed to potentially help scientists detect alien life.

At 17 pounds, the updated handheld device is said to be small enough and light enough for astronauts to carry along with them on space missions.

The device, created by a University of Maryland led team, uses an ultraviolet laser to remove particles from planetary material.

Those particles will then be analysed with the hopes of finding organic compounds.

The new alien-hunting laser allows scientists to access larger compounds with more complex properties in relation to biology.

Smaller compounds, such as amino acids, are a lot harder to analyse, scientists say.

Scientists say the laser is much more suited to space travel than the previous, much larger, prototype and might be ready to launch into space in 'the next few years'.

We really are living in the future.

Featured Image Credit: PSL Images / James Thew / Alamy

Topics: Space, News, NASA

Ali Condon
Ali Condon

Ali is a journalist for LADbible Group, writing on all things film, music, and entertainment across Tyla, LADbible and UNILAD. You can contact Ali at [email protected].

X

@alicondon

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
  • Handout
    8 hours ago

    British couple imprisoned in one of the Taliban's most notorious prisons reveal horrific conditions inside

    Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, Barbie, 76, were held in prison for nearly eight months in 2025

    News
  • YouTube/CNN
    8 hours ago

    JonBenet Ramsey’s dad slams ‘cruel’ claims daughter is pictured in Epstein files

    Conspiracy theories are rife following images released from the Epstein case

    News
  • British Museum
    8 hours ago

    Ancient scroll could prove the existence of 'biblical giants', experts believe

    Experts think the ancient scroll could be evidence of a lost race that walked the Earth

    News
  • X
    8 hours ago

    Volleyball player goes viral for dramatic apology after smashing his serve into young female judge

    The gesture is known as a dogeza

    News
  • What we know about asteroid worth £8,000,000,000,000,000,000 that could make everyone on Earth billionaire
  • Chilling simulation shows damage asteroid that could hit Earth in seven years would do on impact
  • Scientists issue update on size of 'city-destroying' asteroid that was predicted to hit earth
  • How to see 'potentially hostile' interstellar object as it moves incredibly close to Earth this week