NASA warns of a massive 330-foot asteroid, 2025 DT50, approaching close to Earth tomorrow, May 14.
A huge asteroid the size of a 30-story building is racing through space and will make a close approach to Earth tomorrow, May 14 at 4:09 PM IST (10:39 UTC). Named 2025 DT50, this massive rock is a 330-foot-wide (101 metres) space rock, large enough to flatten an entire city if it ever made impact. While it’s expected to pass at a distance of 6.1 million km, astronomers are keeping a close watch because space is unpredictable.
What We Know About Asteroid 2025 DT50
Apollo asteroids are a group of space rocks that orbit the Sun and cross Earth’s orbit, putting them in a position to become dangerous if their paths ever line up with ours. Their unpredictable orbits and fast speeds make them particularly worrisome for scientists monitoring the skies.
What If It Actually Hit Earth?
If an asteroid like 2025 DT50 were to strike Earth, the outcome would be devastating. At 330 feet wide, it’s more than five times larger than the asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013, which injured over 1,500 people. An impact would likely result in an explosion more powerful than several nuclear bombs, causing widespread destruction across hundreds of square kilometres. Shockwaves would flatten buildings, and debris could ignite massive fires, depending on where it strikes.