Large asteroid to pass by Earth on March 21 NASA
Published March 12, 2021 8:32am The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within some 1.25 million miles (two million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, NASA said Thursday. The US space agency said it will allow astronomers to get a rare close look at an asteroid. The asteroid, 2001 FO32, is estimated to be about 3,000 feet in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago, NASA said. We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately, said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies. There is no chance the asteroid will get any closer to Earth than 1.25 million miles.
1.7-Kilometer Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Will Make Close Earth Approach Next Month
02/15/21 AT 8:31 AM This image of Asteroid Bennu was captured by combining two images taken by NASA s OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft. It shows asteroid Bennu spewing particles from its surface. Photo: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin
KEY POINTS
A huge asteroid will make its close approach to Earth on March 21
The asteroid measures about 1.1 miles in diameter, making it twice the size of the tallest manmade structure in the world
The asteroid does not pose any danger to Earth despite its size and proximity
NASA s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is keeping a close eye on a massive asteroid that is currently making its way toward Earth. The space rock is about twice the size of Burj Khalifa, the tallest manmade structure in the world.
Scientists who study the cosmos have released information about what is expected to be the largest asteroid to pass by Earth in 2021. It's big and fast, and currently poses no impact threat.
Story highlights
Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge, asteroid 231937 or 2001 FO32, will pass within 2,016,351 km of Earth in 2021
The largest asteroid to fly past the Earth in 2021 is set to make a close approach to the planet on March 21.
Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge, asteroid 231937 or 2001 FO32, will pass within 2,016,351 km of Earth in 2021.
Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 FO32 is approximately between 0.767 to 1.714 kilometres in diameter. At Congress s direction, NASA has supported a ground-based program to identify the NEOs larger than one kilometre in diameter.
NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has classified 2001 FO32 as a potentially hazardous asteroid due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.
| UPDATED: 08:44, Wed, Jan 20, 2021
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When Asteroid 2001 FO32 breezes past our planet, the rock will be travelling so fast through space, astronomers on Earth will likely be able to detect its motion in from t of stars in real-time. Arguably the most spectacular near-Earth asteroid event of the entire year, the space rock will zoom past our planet on March 21, according the the Center for Near-Earth Studies (CNEOS).