Celestial Encounters: Five Asteroids, Including Stadium-Sized One, Set to Graze Earth
Earth is set to encounter a cosmic spectacle as an asteroid, comparable in size to a sports stadium, hurtles towards our planet. Joining this celestial show, four other space rocks are expected to make near-misses, with the largest scheduled to pass within less than 2 million miles of Earth on Friday.
NASA has reported that the center of attention in this captivating space problem is Asteroid 2008 OS7, which covers about 890 feet in diameter.
On February 2nd, a colossal space rock that was first spotted in 2008 will come remarkably close to Earth, passing by at a distance of 1.77 million miles.
While there is no risk of impact, the proximity is sufficient to warrant a place on NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Asteroid Watch website, which monitors the next five asteroid approaches.
Asteroid 2008 OS7’s near-miss marks the culmination of a week filled with close encounters between Earth and several other celestial bodies.
On Sunday, the “building-size” asteroid, 2024 AU4, measuring approximately 260 feet in diameter, will pass by Earth at a distance of about 3.92 million miles.
Following suit on Tuesday, the “airplane-size” asteroid, 2007 EG, is anticipated to approach even closer, passing at a distance of around 3.8 million miles.
Asteroid 2024 BY’s Close Call & NASA’s Surveillance
The asteroid posing the closest call this week is expected on Thursday, as Asteroid 2024 BY, described by NASA as approximately the size of a house, comes within 1.57 million miles of Earth.
Simultaneously, another “airplane-size” asteroid, 2003 BM4, measuring around 120 feet in diameter, will cruise by at a distance of 2.06 million miles.
For perspective, the average distance from Earth to the moon is about 239,000 miles, according to NASA, while the Sun is approximately 93 million miles away.
NASA categorizes a fraction of near-Earth objects as “potentially hazardous objects” (PHO), defined as asteroids and comets larger than 500 feet predicted to come within 4.7 million miles of Earth. Most near-Earth objects, however, pose no risk of impact.
In a groundbreaking mission, NASA launched OSIRIS-APEX in December to study Apophis, the colossal “God of Chaos” asteroid measuring about 370 yards across. Apophis is expected to make an exceptionally close flyby of Earth at a mere 20,000 miles in 2029, an event unprecedented in recorded history.
While The Post sought comments from NASA on this cosmic spectacle, no immediate response was received.