Bus-Sized Asteroid Passed by Earth at a Distance Close to That of the Moon; 4 Airplaine-Sized Space Rocks Also Making a Flyby

An asteroid made a close approach to Earth Wednesday. Its distance was as close to the planet as that of the moon, according to a report.

Asteroid Passed by Earth at 1 Lunar Distance

Asteroid 2023 HV5, about the size of a school bus, made a safe flyby to Earth Wednesday. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) estimated its distance from Earth at 1.1 lunar distances, suggesting that it was as close to Earth as the moon, Newsweek reported.

Given that the moon is approximately 238,900 miles from Earth, 1.1 lunar distance corresponds to around 262,790 miles. On a human scale, this would seem like a huge distance, but even within the confines of our solar system, it will be a close call.

Meanwhile, according to NASA, the average distance between Earth and the moon is 382 500 kilometers. However, the American space agency noted that the distance varies due to the moon's eccentric orbit.

Perigree is the point where the moon is closest to our planet, and at that point, the distance is about 360,000 kilometers. Apogee is where the moon is farthest from Earth, and the distance is roughly 405,000 kilometers.

Venus, the closest planet to us, is just around 38 million corresponds away from us at its closest.

The 2023 HV5 asteroid is estimated to be 42 feet large and will travel by Earth at a. 9 km/s, or around 20,000 mph, which is 1tentimes faster than a speeding bullet.

2023 HV5 is merely regarded as a Near-Earth Object (NEO). It's not a potentially dangerous object due to its small size.

According to CNEOS statistics, the likelihood of a collision with the Earth is 0.00024, which is exceedingly rare. Additionally, it is extremely unlikely that any potentially dangerous objects will collide with the Earth in the next 100 years.

4 Airplane-Sized Asteroids Making a Flyby

Jet Propulsion Laboratory has listed the five next asteroids that are making a close approach to Earth in the coming day. Four of them are as big as an airplane.

Asteroids 2023 HH7, 2023 HZ4, 2006 HX57, and 2023 HT6 are also approaching our planet. Two of them, 2023 HH7 and 2023 HZ4, will make a flyby on Thursday.

A third asteroid, 2023 HF7, which is about the size of a house, will also join them on the same day. So, three asteroids will be making a close approach to our planet today. Among the three, the 2023 HZ4 is the largest, as its size is approximately 180 feet.

Asteroid 2006 HX57 will make its closest approach to Earth at 2, 600,000 kilometers on Friday. The space rock is estimated to measure about 94 feet.

Asteroid 2023 HTC is smaller than the 2006 HX57 as it only measures 67 feet. However, it will approach our planet closer at 1, 230,000 kilometers on Sunday.

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