The 2004 meteorite XP14 skimmed near Earth

Yesterday 11am (US time), the 2004 XP14 meteorite has approached very close to the globe. This meteorite is 432.308km from Earth, only slightly above the average distance between the Moon and the Earth, making anyone with a medium-sized telescope and some experience able to see it.

NASA deployed a 70-meter-high Goldstone radar in the Mojave Desert (California state, USA) to determine meteorite shape, mass and size.

2004 XP14 has the ability to destroy a small country on Earth, discovered by American scientists on December 10, 2004. It has a diameter of 410 - 920m, belonging to the Apollo group (recorded a total of 1,989 meteorites), ie meteorites with orbits attached to Earth's orbit.

Although 2004 XP14 did not pose a direct threat to the Earth, the Center for Small Meteors in Cambridge (Massachusetts) classified it as "threatening" because of its size and trajectory. There are currently about 783 "threatening" objects. One of them is the 300m diameter Apophis meteorite, which will fly across the Earth at a distance of 32,000km, scheduled for April 13, 2029.

The location of the XP14 Asteroid 2004 meteorite is close to the Earth

Meteorite image 2004 XP14
(Photo: NASA)

DUY VAN