Asteroid Alert: NASA Tracks Airplane-Sized Space Rock As It Approaches Earth

NDTV

3 days ago

An asteroid, named 2025 OW, is scheduled to pass Earth next week. It is estimated to be about 210 feet across, roughly the size of a large airplane. The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth on July 28, travelling at a speed of approximately 46,908 miles per hour. It will pass our planet at a distance of around 393,000 miles.
According to NASA, the asteroid poses no threat to Earth. Ian J O'Neill, who is the media relations specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), told ABC News, "This is very routine."
"If there was a threat, you would hear from us. We would always put out alerts on our planetary defense blog."
"We know exactly where it's going to be. We'll probably know where it's going to be for the next 100 years," O'Neill added.
Another expert, Davide Farnocchia, an asteroid expert at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), told the outlet: "Close approaches happen all the time, it's just part of the fabric of the solar system."
Will this asteroid be visible?
Farnocchia explained that it won't be visible with binoculars. He, however, mentioned that another exciting event will come in 2029 when asteroid Apophis will approach Earth.
"Apophis will come within 38,000 kilometers of Earth in April 2029, closer than our geostationary satellites," Farnocchia said.
NASA is also tracking another aeroplane-sized asteroid, 2025 OX, which will fly past Earth on July 26 at a distance of 2,810,000 miles.
Asteroids larger than 150 meters in diameter and coming within 7.4 million kilometres of Earth are considered potentially hazardous.
Since 2025 OW is larger than the size threshold but will pass at a safe distance, it's worth monitoring.
Other asteroids passing by Earth recently included 2025 MM, an airplane-sized asteroid, that passed by Earth on July 1. It measured around 120 feet wide and travelled at 23,874 miles per hour.
Another asteroid named 2025 KX8, a 120-foot space rock, also flew by Earth on June 4, passing at a distance of approximately 1.99 million kilometres.
An asteroid, 2025 MG1, about 130 feet wide, zoomed safely past Earth on July 12 at a distance of over 3 million kilometres.