Bus-Sized Asteroid to Fly Past Earth, Followed by Four More
“In the last 30 days, NASA identified 10 asteroids moving past Earth at a distance closer than the moon.”
by Mikala Theocharous
via 9news
A bus-sized asteroid will make its way past Earth today, while even larger asteroids are expected to blaze past our planet in the next few days, according to NASA.
At its closest orbit, the 12-metre comet will be 435,000 kilometres away from Earth.
For comparison, the moon is 384,000 kilometres away.
The asteroid, named 2023 HV5, will cross paths with Earth on Thursday.
It is hurtling through space at 8.9 kilometres per second, according to the National Space Agency’s calculations.
Other larger asteroids will pass the planet in the next two days, with three large ones expected to pass us by on Friday.
One includes an asteroid the size of a house, named 2023 HF7.
It will pass by Earth from 639,000 kilometres away and is 15 metres wide.
Two more, both the size of an aeroplane, will also pass Earth on the same day, as far as 839,000 kilometres and 3,080,000 kilometres away respectively.
A fourth 29-metre asteroid, 2006 HX57, will pass Earth on May 6 at a distance of 2,600,000 kilometres.
NASA’s planetary defence system has discovered 31,831 asteroids in total, with 103 found to be passing Earth closer than the moon in the last year.
In the last 30 days, NASA identified 10 asteroids moving past Earth at a distance closer than the moon.
Over 10,000 asteroids discovered were larger than 140 metres, with an estimated 15,000 left to be found.
Mikala Theocharous
9news
