Gigantic 420-foot asteroid to pass Earth soon, reveals NASA; Know how close it will come

Asteroids have been passing by Earth in abundance. Just a few days ago, as many as four space rocks flew past Earth in one day. While most of these asteroids that pass by Earth closely do not pose any threat to life and property, it is still imperative to track them to minimize the uncertainties around their close approaches. NASA has now revealed details about a 420 feet wide asteroid that will pass Earth by a close margin tomorrow, March 23.

Also Read: 60-foot asteroid to pass Earth by 1.03 mn km

Asteroid 2024 EU4

Asteroid 2024 EU4 is just one of the many space rocks that revolve around the Sun in the main asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. The responsibility to track and categorize celestial objects such as asteroids and comets falls to NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies or CNEOS. This organization has now revealed that Asteroid 2024 EU4 will pass by Earth at a distance of 7.2 million kilometers tomorrow.

NASA further revealed that the asteroid is travelling around the Sun in its orbit at a menacing speed of approximately 101885 kilometers per hour. This is much faster even a space shuttle! It is one of the two asteroids that have been designated to pass Earth closely tomorrow, alongside Asteroid 2024 EL4.

It belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth's. These asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

Also Read: What are asteroids and how ESA is tracking them

How big is it?

The asteroid is almost 420 feet wide in terms of size. Thus, it can be compared to a whole building! Although the asteroid is not expected to impact Earth, it has still been designated as a Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) due to its close approach to the planet.

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