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Two 100-meter-wide asteroids are set to cross Earth’s orbit within hours of each other in the coming days, while another space rock, the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt, is heading towards our planet.
NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Research, which tracks near-Earth asteroids and comets, has confirmed that it will be monitoring the last two rapid asteroids on Friday, September 25th. Both bodies are classified as Apollo asteroids, meaning they cross Earth’s orbit as they fly through space.
The first asteroid, named 2020 RO, is estimated to be 130 meters wide. It will fly at 11.84 km per second on September 25 at 00:10 EST.
The second asteroid, named 2020 SM, is expected to cross the Earth at a speed of 18.43 km per second. The slightly smaller space rock is estimated to be up to 100 meters in diameter.
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Although both asteroids are classified as near-Earth objects (NEOs), it is predicted that they will travel safely even if our planet is in contact with its orbit. They were both discovered this year.
On September 29, a large asteroid 200 meters wide will quietly pass the Earth at a distance of about 1.78 million miles. The largest visitor is comparable to the Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt.
The interesting interval of asteroid activity is heating up on the heels of an amateur astronomer in Brazil who discovered a large asteroid that somehow slipped off Earth’s core planetary defenses last month.
The discovery served as a reminder to the world’s space agencies that many asteroids have yet to be discovered.
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