3 of the 5 asteroids traveling past Earth this week are
the size of airplanes, according to NASA
celestial body image |
In the past
30 days, three asteroids have come closer to Earth than the moon.
Beginning on
Wednesday, five asteroids will pass close to Earth, but NASA doesn't anticipate
any danger to the globe.
According to
NASA's Asteroid Watch dashboard, four asteroids the size of a plane, three the
size of a home, and one the size of a bus will approach Earth between September
6 and September 12.
On
Wednesday, the asteroid known as JA5 will pass 3.17 million miles from Earth,
according to NASA. JA5, a house-sized asteroid, was originally found in 2021
and measures about 59 feet.
Two
asteroids, QC5 and GE, will fly by Earth on September 8 at distances of 2.53
million and 3.56 million miles, respectively. According to NASA Asteroid Watch
statistics, QC5 is about 84 feet tall, the size of a plane, and was found this
year, while GE is around 26 feet tall, the size of a bus, and was found in
2022.
According to
NASA, the two additional asteroids the size of an airliner are anticipated to
pass Earth on September 10. According to NASA, the 68-foot-long asteroid QF6
and the 170-foot-long QE8 are both passing within 945,000 and 1.65 million
miles, respectively, of Earth. This year saw the discovery of both asteroids.
According to
NASA, the average distance between Earth and the moon is about 239,000 miles.
According to
NASA, despite approaching Earth by 4.6 million miles, none of the asteroids are
larger than 150 meters (492 feet), hence they pose no threat to the globe.
In response
to ABC News' request for comment, NASA didn't immediately react.
According to
NASA Asteroid Watch, an asteroid between 140 and 310 feet in size safely flew
past Earth in March. According to the agency, an asteroid of this magnitude
only passes Earth once every ten years.
By August
31st, NASA had uncovered more than 32,000 asteroids that were close to Earth.
The space agency has found 10,541 asteroids larger than 140 meters (or 459
feet) and 853 asteroids larger than 1 kilo meter (or 0.62 miles).
In the past
30 days, three asteroids have come closer to Earth than the moon. NASA reports
that 10 asteroids have come closer to Earth in the last 365 days than the moon.
The Asteroid
Watch dashboard keeps track of asteroids and comets that make "relatively
close approaches to Earth," according to NASA.