Two massive asteroids to make close approach to Earth today
According to NASA, two asteroids, both of which measure well over 100 feet, are bound to make a close approach to Earth today. Fortunately, there is no reason to worry. The two space rocks that are headed in our direction, called 2023 RF13 and 2023 RK3, are not expected to cause any harm and should cross at a safe distance.
Asteroid 2023 RF13 is traveling at 7km/s
Asteroid 2023 RF13 is estimated to be about 110 feet in size, making it almost as big as an aircraft. The asteroid is expected to come as close as 4 million kilometers to our planet and is estimated to be traveling at a speed of about 7km/s. It is classified under the Amor group of asteroids, ones that cross the orbit of Mars, but not that of Earth. They are also called Earth-approaching, or Earth-grazing asteroids.
Asteroid 2023 RK3 measures about 130 feet
Compared to 2023 RF13, the other asteroid that is bound to make a close approach to our home planet, 2023 RK3, measures relatively larger, at 130 feet. Asteroid 2023 RK3 will cross us at a distance of 7.1 million kilometers and will be shooting through space at a velocity of about 9.5km/s. It also falls under the Amor group of asteroids. The same asteroid appears to have crossed us twice previously, in October 2013 and February 2017.
Both asteroids are classified as Near Earth Objects (NEOs)
Both the asteroids, 2023 RF13 and 2023 RK3, are classified as Near Earth Objects (NEOs). NASA defines a NEO as a comet or asteroid whose orbit brings it within a zone of about 195 million kilometers from the Sun, meaning that it can pass within about 50 million kilometers of Earth's orbit. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Center for NEO Studies regularly tracks such bodies and updates its database on a daily basis.
