It gets so close that the line on NASA's trajectory map for the asteroid actually passes through Earth as it crosses the planet's orbit. Don't worry, this is a harmless space rock.
An asteroid discovered Tuesday (April 9) will make an extremely close, but harmless, pass by planet Earth today (April 11).
Asteroid 2024 GJ2 is roughly the size of a car and, since its discovery this week, astronomers have calculated that the space rock will graze by Earth at a mere-12 thousand-mile (19.3-thousand-kilometer) distance — that's just three percent the distance between the Earth and the moon. 2024 GJ2 measures between 2.5 and 5 meters (8.2 and 16 feet), according to the European Space Agency (ESA). This means it's an asteroid with a weight-class that would have burned up in Earth's atmosphere, if its orbit happened to intersect ours more directly.
Astronomers believe the asteroid's closest approach distance to Earth will occur at 2:28:42 p.m. EDT (18:28:42 GMT) on Thursday, at a distance of 11,600 miles (18,700 kilometers). That's closer than some geostationary satellites in orbits just over 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above Earth.
www.space.com
An asteroid discovered Tuesday (April 9) will make an extremely close, but harmless, pass by planet Earth today (April 11).
Asteroid 2024 GJ2 is roughly the size of a car and, since its discovery this week, astronomers have calculated that the space rock will graze by Earth at a mere-12 thousand-mile (19.3-thousand-kilometer) distance — that's just three percent the distance between the Earth and the moon. 2024 GJ2 measures between 2.5 and 5 meters (8.2 and 16 feet), according to the European Space Agency (ESA). This means it's an asteroid with a weight-class that would have burned up in Earth's atmosphere, if its orbit happened to intersect ours more directly.
Astronomers believe the asteroid's closest approach distance to Earth will occur at 2:28:42 p.m. EDT (18:28:42 GMT) on Thursday, at a distance of 11,600 miles (18,700 kilometers). That's closer than some geostationary satellites in orbits just over 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above Earth.
Car-size asteroid gives Earth a super-close shave with flyby closer than some satellites
It gets so close that the line on NASA's trajectory map for the asteroid actually passes through Earth as it crosses the planet's orbit. Don't worry, this is a harmless space rock.
