In 2021, say bonjour to asteroids!2 min read

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An asteroid as big as the Eiffel Tower is set to fly past the earth at a safe distance of 7.4 million kilometres in January!

This prediction was also made by the French astrologer, Nostradamus.

Owliver’s Obscure Observations:

Who is Nostradamus?



Michel de Nostredame, or Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, and physician. He wrote a book called Les Prophéties which is a collection of 942 poetic quatrains. Through this book, Nostradamus claimed to predict future events. What is surprising is that out of the 6,338 predictions that he made, 3797 prophecies have come true! 

But this is not the only asteroid coming to say hi this year.
On January 3, an asteroid whose width matches the height of the Golden Gate Bridge flew past the earth at 6.9 million kilometres.

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We also have an almost-visitor for tomorrow! NASA confirms that an asteroid twice the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza is going to hit the earth’s orbit on Wednesday, at a safe distance of 3.5 million kilometres.

January will also see three more instances of Near-Earth Objects gracing the orbit with their presence. But like kind guests who practice social distancing, they will not disturb us earthlings passing by at safe distances.

A 15-metre asteroid will wave hello from a safe distance of 6.4 million kilometres.
This will be followed by two more slabs of space debris.

NASA claims that similarly sized asteroids pass by the Earth several times every year. However, they hare hard to notice. It is only when they are headed directly at earth that the atmospheric disturbance becomes noticeable.

Play with Owliver:
Owliver has brought to you many stories on asteroids. Remember Bennu, the discovery made by two teenagers from India, and the asteroid that is worth 10,000 quadrillion US dollars?
Solve the cosmic puzzle below from our coverage on asteroids to catch up in time for our next visitor!