This week, an asteroid the size of a sports stadium is hurtling toward Earth and will be accompanied by four other celestial near-misses, with the largest anticipated to pass within less than 2 million miles of our planet on Friday.
NASA reports that Asteroid 2008 OS7 measures approximately 890 feet in diameter and is expected to make its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 2.
Discovered in 2008, this space rock is projected to miss us by a distance of 1.77 million miles.
While there is no risk of impact, its proximity is close enough to earn a spot on NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Asteroid Watch website, which monitors the next five asteroid approaches.
The near miss of 2008 OS7 will conclude a week featuring several other asteroids passing uncomfortably close to Earth.
On Sunday, 2024 AU4, a “building-size” asteroid with a diameter of about 260 feet, is set to miss Earth by approximately 3.92 million miles at its closest point.
Next on Tuesday, the “airplane-size” asteroid, 2007 EG, will pass a bit closer, with an anticipated distance of approximately 3.8 million miles, the New York Post reported.
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