Asteroid expected to pass Earth in 2028 is speeding up

We're now gonna talk about a story that is literally out of this world. So an asteroid is expected to pass by Earth in 2028, and get this, it's picking up speed. And scientists, well, they're trying to figure out why. So Amy Gallo joins us now live from Cape Canaveral, Florida, which is near the Kennedy Space Center. And Amy, the giant space rocket's creating quite a bit of buzz. How concerned should we be? Not concerned. Good morning, Tyler. Yeah, there's a lot of rumors and speculation online, especially with headlines you may have seen saying this asteroid is going to hit Earth. Well, it's not. It's going to pass right by us at about 33 million miles away, which scientists call a safe distance. First of all, nothing is about to hit us, to be very clear on this. There is an asteroid out there that I think some of the UAP community, if you will, is observing it and thinks it's making some unusual maneuvering out there. I've not seen any evidence to suggest this is a threat to our planet or anything other than an asteroid. I promise you we'll keep our eyes on it. The asteroid first discovered in 1998 is dubbed 1998 KY26. It's 36 feet wide and orbits the sun roughly every 500 days. And just like all objects in orbit, 1998 KY26 speeds up as it moves closer to the sun and then slows down as it moves farther away. But during each approach, this asteroid picks up some additional speed that cannot be explained by gravity alone. Earlier theories As the asteroid got closer to the sun, heat turned its ice into steam, causing it to move faster, almost like a rocket. But Georgia Tech researchers say this is unlikely because the asteroid's surface temperature is too hot. It's kind of like detective work. We're just kind of crossing things off as to what the cause could be. So the solar radiation pressure seems very promising. It's kind of like a ball bouncing off a wall in a sense. So the momentum was going this way and now it's going this way for the light. Also, thermal radiation is infrared light. So when something is cooling off, it's also giving off particles that have momentum with them. Now, because this asteroid is so small, scientists are basing this theory on simulation models. Now, there is a Japanese space probe on its way to the asteroid, which should give us some more concrete answers on all of this. But the bad news is it'll be another five years until we learn more. Back to you, Tyler. So the point of all this is they want to be able to understand what's causing it to speed up and things like that. Is that really what they're hoping that space probe is going to be able to solve? So maybe in the future, if something's actually threatening? Earth, they can know what's causing it and how to maybe redirect it. I think with this asteroid in particular, it is so small, right? They're just about 30-something feet wide, the size of a school bus, really, right? So it's hard for us to see what this—we can't see it with the naked eye, certainly. General telescopes can't see it. The more sophisticated space equipment can, things like this space probe. So, yes, they're trying to get some more answers as to why it's behaving this way and all of these things that scientists are theorizing about now. There's also some speculation about whether this is an asteroid. Could it be another small... object with some scientists over at Harvard bringing up that theory. So this could put an end to that as well. So we're hoping here in five years we get an answer as to what this is all about. Well, Amy Gallo live in a beautiful Florida. It looks like a nice day down there. Amy, thanks so much for joining us.