NASA Alert: Giant 100-Foot Asteroid, Comparable to Airplane, Approaching Earth SoonTomorrow, Earth will experience the close approach of two near-Earth asteroids .
One is house-sized, while the other, Asteroid 2024 NB2 , is notable for its speed as it approaches our planet.
Is This A Potentially Hazardous Asteroid?
NASA only flags near-Earth objects larger than 150 meters that come within 4.6 million miles as dangerous or potentially hazardous.
How NASA Tracks Asteroids NASA uses both spacecraft and Earth-based observations to monitor asteroids and comets.
NASA Alert: Giant 100-Foot Asteroid, Comparable to Airplane, Approaching Earth Soon
Tomorrow, Earth will experience the close approach of two near-Earth asteroids . One is house-sized, while the other, Asteroid 2024 NB2 , is notable for its speed as it approaches our planet. NASA scientists are closely monitoring this asteroid , which is about the size of an aeroplane, measuring 100 feet (30 meters) wide. It will pass near Earth on July 13, 2024, at a distance of approximately 2.39 million miles (0.02 astronomical units).
NASA has further revealed that travelling at a speed of 47,921 kilometres per hour relative to Earth, this encounter is crucial to observe due to its proximity and velocity. NASA classifies 2024 NB2 as an Apollo asteroid, part of a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
Is This A Potentially Hazardous Asteroid? NASA only flags near-Earth objects larger than 150 meters that come within 4.6 million miles as dangerous or potentially hazardous. Fortunately, Asteroid 2024 NB2 is not considered potentially hazardous. Due to its smaller size, 2024 NB2 poses no threat and will pass by safely. However, an asteroid can deviate from its orbit and hurled directly to the nearest planets, including our Earth. Hence, it is important to keep an eye on these space rocks.
How NASA Tracks Asteroids NASA uses both spacecraft and Earth-based observations to monitor asteroids and comets. Of the more than 730,000 known asteroids, about 16,000 are near-Earth objects, with 1,784 classified as potentially hazardous. The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory plays a key role in understanding asteroid trajectories, supporting NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office by updating orbit calculations and analyzing asteroid impact risks.
Ground-based telescopes, such as Pan-STARRS1 in Maui, Hawaii, and the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, along with the space-based telescope NEOWISE, have identified thousands of near-Earth objects. These telescopes perform follow-up observations to refine orbit calculations and study the physical properties of these objects, ensuring that potential threats are identified and tracked.
