A giant asteroid the size of a building just safely zoomed past Earth overnight
Posted: Tue May 10, 2022 2:19 am
https://www.space.com/giant-asteroid-safe-flyby-may-9
A building-sized asteroid whizzed by our planet overnight into Monday (May 9) and at a very safe distance, just like all the other giant space rocks we know of.
The asteroid, known officially as 467460 (2006 JF42), came within 14 Earth-moon distances of our planet, according to data from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In real terms, that's roughly 3.5 million miles (5.7 million kilometers) from our planet.
The flyby of the the asteroid (estimated at 1,247 feet to 2,822 feet across, or 380 to 860 meters) is a symbol of the ever-present change in our solar system. Our neighborhood is filled with asteroids and comets that are constantly moving around us. That said, NASA does keep a close eye on the ones that skirt our planet.
A building-sized asteroid whizzed by our planet overnight into Monday (May 9) and at a very safe distance, just like all the other giant space rocks we know of.
The asteroid, known officially as 467460 (2006 JF42), came within 14 Earth-moon distances of our planet, according to data from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In real terms, that's roughly 3.5 million miles (5.7 million kilometers) from our planet.
The flyby of the the asteroid (estimated at 1,247 feet to 2,822 feet across, or 380 to 860 meters) is a symbol of the ever-present change in our solar system. Our neighborhood is filled with asteroids and comets that are constantly moving around us. That said, NASA does keep a close eye on the ones that skirt our planet.