An asteroid the size of a bus will skim past Earth today, coming within just over half the distance between our planet and its moon.
The asteroid is estimated to be around 42 feet in diameter, which is longer than a London bus and about half the size of a blue whale. It's traveling at roughly 50 times the speed of sound as it passes by Earth.
An asteroid the size of a bus will skim past Earth today, coming within just over half the distance between our planet and its moon. The asteroid is estimated to be around 42 feet in diameter, which is longer than a London bus and about half the size of a blue whale. It's traveling at roughly 50 times the speed of sound as it passes by Earth.
Despite its close proximity to our planet, experts have reassured that there is no cause for alarm. The asteroid, called 2024 DW, will fly past Earth on February 22 and be closer than the average distance to the moon.
An asteroid the size of a bus will skim past Earth today
The asteroid is estimated to be around 42 feet in diameter and about half the size of a blue whale
Asteroid 2024 DW reaches just over half the distance between Earth and the moon today
Accuracy
The asteroid is expected to come as close as 140,000 miles to our planet on Thursday - even closer than the moon
It is estimated to be around 42 feet in diameter and about half the size of a blue whale
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority by citing NASA's online tracker and Dr. Minjae Kim as sources for information about the asteroid. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when stating that there is no cause for alarm despite the close proximity of the asteroid, which could be seen as a form of dichotomous depiction.
The article contains an appeal to authority by citing NASA's online tracker and Dr. Minjae Kim as sources for information about the asteroid.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
There are multiple examples of conflicts of interest in this article. The author has a financial stake in the topic as they work for NASA and have access to information about asteroids.
<https://www.nasa.gov/neo/>
NASA online tracker for upcoming objects that are getting closer and closer to Earth
Asteroid 2024 DW is the size of around six adult Indian peacocks and will fly within the Moon's orbit of the Earth on February 22, according to NASA.
NASA has indicated that an asteroid like this coming so close is a bit rarer than normal (around once a month at best), out of the dozens that pass by each month.
Composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles, comets originally formed in the cold outer planetary system while most of the rocky asteroids formed in the warmer inner solar system between Mars and Jupiter.
Accuracy
Asteroid DJ1 is most likely the largest and can do the most damage of all the asteroids passing Earth on February 22, but its orbital path puts it far from Earth.
NASA lists it as one of the upcoming close approaches on its online tracker
On average, Earth is hit by a football pitch-sized rock every 5,000 years and a civilisation-ending asteroid every one million years according to NASA's Near-Earth Object Program
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that the asteroid is around six adult Indian peacocks in size when this statement is not accurate as peacocks are much smaller than stated. Secondly, the article uses a comparison with NBC's Peacock streaming service which has nothing to do with the topic at hand and serves no purpose other than to distract from the actual information being presented.
The asteroid is around six adult Indian peacocks in size
NBC's Peacock streaming service comparison
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority by citing NASA as the source of information. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the size of the asteroid in comparison to peacocks and other objects. Additionally, there is a dichotomous depiction of harmless vs dangerous asteroids.
Asteroid 2024 DW is around six adult Indian peacocks
An illustrative image of an asteroid passing Earth
Out of all the asteroids passing the Earth on February 22, DJ1 is most likely the largest and can do the most damage
Bias
(85%)
The article uses the size of a peacock as an example to describe the asteroid's size. However, it is important to note that this comparison is not accurate because peacocks are much smaller than adult Indian peacocks and their measurements were estimated by NASA. The author also mentions other asteroids passing Earth on February 22th but only provides information about one of them (asteroid DW) which creates a disproportionate number of quotes reflecting the focus on this specific asteroid.
An illustrative image of an asteroid passing Earth. (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
An Indian peacock in full plumage. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Asteroid 2024 DW is the size of around six adult Indian peacocks
Of all the asteroids passing the Earth on February 22, 2024 DJ1 is most likely the largest and can do the most damage.
Taking that into account, asteroid 2024 DW is around the size of over six adult male peacocks.
The asteroid in question has been designated 2024 DW, according to the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of asteroid as they are reporting for NASA which is directly related to the article's content.
Asteroid 2024 DW will fly near Earth on Feb. 22, closer than the average distance to the moon.
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The asteroid is about 13 meters wide and within a range of 140,000 miles (225,000 kilometers) from Earth when it passes by us on Thursday.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that NASA and other organizations regularly keep watch for near-Earth asteroids that may pose a risk to Earth. This statement implies that these organizations are trustworthy sources of information, but it is not clear what evidence they have used to make this claim or if their methods are reliable. Additionally, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating that an asteroid will hit Earth at some point and asking what we can do about it. This statement creates a sense of urgency and fear in the reader without providing any concrete information or solutions.
The article states that NASA regularly keeps watch for near-Earth asteroids, implying that these organizations are trustworthy sources of information.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
Tariq Malik has a conflict of interest on the topic of asteroids as he is an author for Space.com which is owned by NASA/JPL-Caltech and University of Hawaii telescope atop Mauna Kea volcano.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The author Tariq Malik has a conflict of interest on the topic of asteroids as he is affiliated with NASA/JPL-Caltech and University of Hawaii telescope atop Mauna Kea volcano. He also reports on potentially hazardous asteroids 2024 DW, Mt. Lemmon Survey, Catalina Sky Survey.
The article mentions that the author is affiliated with NASA/JPL-Caltech and University of Hawaii telescope atop Mauna Kea volcano.
