Two asteroids to pass Earth at extremely close distances! Know details

NASA has revealed details about two asteroids that are expected to make what could well be the closest approaches of the year! Know their speed, size, distance of approach, and more.

Asteroid 2023 VB2 belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids. (Pixabay)

Asteroids are ancient space rocks left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago, according to NASA. These space rocks orbit the Sun and are mainly present in the asteroid belt located between Jupiter and Mars. On a few occasions, the orbits of these asteroids bring them close to Earth, a phenomenon known as a ‘Close approach'. NASA has various space and ground-based telescopes to discover and track asteroids in the sky. With the help of this advanced technology, the space agency has revealed that not one but two asteroids will pass Earth today, November 7, at extremely close distances! Know all about it.

1. Asteroid 2023 VB2

This space rock is already on its way and is travelling at a speed of almost 64884 kilometers per hour, which is almost as fast as a space shuttle! According to NASA, Asteroid 2023 VB2 will pass Earth at an extremely close distance of just 32800 kilometers, which is 10 times closer than the Moon! For the unaware, the distance of the Moon from Earth is 384,400 kilometers It will be one of the closest asteroid approaches of the year so far.

We are now on WhatsApp. Click to join.

This space rock 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.

Asteroid 2023 VB2 is almost 25 feet wide, making it almost as big as a car.

2. Asteroid 2023 VD2

As per the details, another asteroid designated Asteroid VD2 is expected to pass Earth at a distance of approximately 56200 kilometers, which is 6 times closer than the Moon! The asteroid is travelling at a speed of 29204 kilometers per hour.

This space rock also belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids. In terms of size, it is almost as big as a car, with a width of just 11 feet.

Both these close approaches are just two of the 6 asteroids that have been predicted to pass Earth at close distances today. Fortunately, none of them are expected to hit Earth.