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Just yesterday, 3 asteroids passed Earth by a close margin. While none of them were considered “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids”, the biggest of them was 150 feet wide, making it almost as big as an aircraft. Such close approaches by celestial objects such as asteroids and comets serve as a reminder of the dangerous potential they possess and the need to continuously monitor their trajectories. NASA, with the help of its advanced ground and space-based satellites, has shed light on three asteroids that are expected to pass Earth today, March 28.
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Asteroid 2024 EO3: Details
NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies or CNEOS is responsible for computing the trajectories of celestial objects such as asteroids and comets. It also calculates the probability of impact of these objects. The first asteroid that is expected to pass Earth today has been designated Asteroid 2024 EO3 by CNEOS. It is expected to pass Earth at a distance of just 3.8 million kilometers. The space agency says it is travelling in its orbit around the Sun at a speed of 41166 kilometers per hour.
In terms of size, is it approximately 120 feet wide, making it almost as big as an aircraft! It belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are Earth-crossing space rocks with semi-major axes larger than Earth’s. These asteroids are named after the humongous 1862 Apollo asteroid, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.
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Asteroid 2024 FN1: Details
The second asteroid which is predicted to pass Earth today has been designated Asteroid 2024 FN1 by CNEOS. During its close approach, it will come as close as 6.1 million kilometers and is already travelling in its orbit at a speed of 23748 kilometers per hour.
In terms of size, Asteroid 2024 FN1 is smaller than Asteroid 2024 EO3 but is still as big as an aircraft. It has a width of 67 feet. NASA says it also belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids.
Asteroid 2024 ES4: Details
The last asteroid to pass Earth today has been designated Asteroid 2024 ES4 and it is expected to pass Earth by a distance of nearly 6.7 million kilometers. It has been observed travelling in its orbit at a speed of 18474 kilometers per hour.
According to NASA, it belongs to the Amor group of Near-Earth Asteroids which are Earth-approaching near-Earth asteroids with orbits exterior to Earth but interior to Mars’, named after asteroid 1221 Amor, which was discovered by Belgian astronomer E. Delporte in 1932.
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While these asteroids will pass Earth closely, none of them are expected to impact the surface and cause any damage to life or property.
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