Massive asteroid to fly by Earth on May 27
According to NASA, an asteroid that is four times the size of the Empire State Building will get really close to Earth on May 27. The 7335 (1989 JA) will be four million kilometers away, nearly 10 times the average distance between Earth and the moon! However, due to its huge size, NASA has classified it as "potentially hazardous," if its orbit changes.
Traveling at a speed of 76,000 km/h
The 7335 (1989 JA) is the largest asteroid to come this close to Earth this year. The asteroid is speeding at an estimated pace of 76,000 km/h. The space rock won't make another close visit until June 23, 2055, when it will pass by at a farther distance than this time. NASA says that this is larger than 99% of tracked NEOs.
What are NEOs?
NEOs stand for near-Earth objects. Any smaller heavenly body in the solar system that orbits in close proximity to the Earth is called a near-Earth object. When a NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's, with the object's diameter being over 140 meters, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most are asteroids, but some are also comets. There are over 27,000 known near-Earth asteroids.
Other details about the asteroid
The 7335 (1989 JA) fits into a class of asteroids called the Apollo class which are space rocks that orbit the sun while periodically crossing Earth's orbit, according to Live Science. There are about 15,000 such asteroids out of over a million. Last year, NASA launched a spacecraft called the Double Asteroid Redirection Take (DART), which can collide with the Dimorphos asteroid.
Similar events
Earlier in January, NASA had tracked an asteroid, which came in relative proximity to Earth. Known as (7482) 1994 PC1, it was about one kilometer in diameter. The object was classed as a potentially hazardous object, but safely passed by Earth on January 18. The asteroid was within 3,000 kilometers of Earth, being the third-closest asteroid to approach without colliding, as per CNET reports.
