Asteroid 1999 VF22, classified as potentially hazardous, will pass by Earth on 22 February.
NASA considers potentially dangerous rated by the asteroid that will pass next week, as it will pass relatively close to Earth from an astronomical point of view and is considered to be large in size. The closest distance of the asteroid, 1999 VF22, is calculated to be 5 366 000 kilometres (almost 14 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon), but its exact size is unknown, with researchers estimating its width to be around 190-430 metres - from a IFL Science.
The closest it will come to Earth is on 22 February at 8.54am Hungarian time, the last time it has been this close to our planet for more than 100 years.
Researchers are constantly monitoring the movements of small planets, and have been working for many years on a way to deflect a dangerous space rock heading towards Earth. Announced last autumn. DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) is designed to find out whether a device launched from Earth can deflect an asteroid that threatens to end the world.
The small-car-sized probe launched under the programme is expected to crash into the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022, after travelling 11 million kilometres in ten months. This is the first time a spacecraft has deliberately collided with an asteroid.
