NASA Alerts: Massive Asteroid Whizzes Dangerously Close to Earth

NASA has issued an alert about an asteroid, designated 2024 PK2, which is expected to make its closest approach to Earth on August 11. This asteroid, roughly the size of a small building at 83 feet wide, will pass within 795,000 miles of our planet.

2024 PK2 belongs to the Aten group of asteroids, known for their orbits that frequently cross paths with Earth. It will zoom past Earth at a staggering speed of about 19,500 miles per hour (31,380 kilometers per hour).

While 795,000 miles might seem like a vast distance, in astronomical terms, it’s quite close, necessitating close monitoring by NASA. This distance is about three times that between the Moon and Earth, classifying 2024 PK2 as a near-Earth object (NEO) that poses enough proximity to warrant careful observation.

How does NASA track these near-Earth asteroids? The agency, along with other international space organizations, employs a network of telescopes coupled with advanced computing technologies to detect NEOs.

Although many NEOs do not pose a direct threat, some that come extremely close to Earth are categorized as potentially hazardous asteroids. These are typically larger than 460 feet (140 meters) and have orbits that bring them within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of Earth. NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) continuously tracks these objects to assess any potential impact risks.