Celestial Parade: Earth’s Close Encounters with 5 Colossal Asteroids This Week

This week, Earth is preparing for an exciting celestial event as it is set to have close encounters with not just one or two, but five asteroids.

Leading this stellar lineup is the massive Asteroid 2008 OS7, a celestial giant comparable in size to a FIFA-accredited football stadium, measuring a remarkable 890 feet (0.27 kilometers) in diameter. NASA discovered this colossal asteroid in 2008, and it is scheduled to pass by our planet on February 2. The cosmic rendezvous, as noted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will occur at a safe distance of 1.77 million miles, captivating the interest of avid skywatchers.

However, Asteroid 2008 OS7 is not the sole star of this cosmic parade. Earth is also graced by the presence of four other celestial companions, ranging in size from a house to a building, all set to make stellar flybys.

On Sunday, January 28th, Asteroid 2024 AU4, a celestial object measuring 260 feet wide (comparable to a large building), safely passed by Earth at a distance of 3.92 million miles.

On Tuesday, January 30th, we can anticipate the arrival of Asteroid 2007 EG, an asteroid approximately the size of an airplane, with dimensions of 130 feet (0.04 kilometers). It will make its celestial approach at a distance of 3.8 million miles.

Thursday, February 1st, will bring the entrance of two more cosmic travelers. First is Asteroid 2024 BY, a house-sized wanderer measuring 62 feet (0.02 kilometers) in diameter, gracefully passing at a distance of 1.57 million miles. The second is Asteroid 2003 BM4, a celestial aviator with dimensions akin to an airplane, measuring 120 feet (0.04 kilometers), gracefully traversing at a distance of 2.06 million miles from Earth.

NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard diligently tracks asteroids and comets that are scheduled to make relatively close approaches to Earth. It provides information on the next five Earth approaches within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers or approximately 19.5 times the distance to the moon). Objects larger than about 150 meters that can approach Earth within this distance are categorized as potentially hazardous objects, as stated on the JPL website.