As the asteroid inches closer to our planet, it looks as if it's wearing its own mask.
An asteroid is hurtling close to the Earth, and with it, a startling reminder of the ongoingThe space rock, known as 1998 OR2, will be nearly 4 million miles away from Earth next Wednesday at around 5:59 a.m. ET — classifying it as a"potentially hazardous" asteroid despite the impossibility of it posing a threat to Earth any time soon.
A newly-captured image by Arecibo Observatory brings its own surprise. As the asteroid inches closer to our planet, it looks as if it's wearing its own mask, and may very well be conducting its own social distancing practices. “The small-scale topographic features such as hills and ridges on one end of asteroid 1998 OR2 are fascinating scientifically,” said Anne Virkki, the head of planetary radar at Arecibo Observatory in a statement. “But since we are all thinking about COVID-19 these features make it look like 1998 OR2 remembered to wear a mask.”
It's classified as a"potentially hazardous" asteroid because it is over 500 feet in diameter and closer than 4,650,000 miles to Earth. “Although this asteroid is not projected to impact Earth, it is important to understand the characteristics of these types of objects to improve impact-risk mitigation technologies,” she added.
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