Two house-sized asteroids coming towards Earth today: Nasa
The American space agency has reassured that these asteroids pose no threat to our planet.
Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has reported that two asteroids, named 2024 TO4 and 2024 TX11, will pass Earth on Tuesday. According to the American space agency, both asteroids are the size of a house and the agency will continue to monitor the celestial bodies for any anomalies.
Of the two, asteroid 2024 TX11 is the bigger one. Measuring 54 ft, or the size of a house, it will pass near Earth at a distance of 1,750,000 miles. Similarly, asteroid 2024 TO4 measures 45 feet, similar to an aeroplane, and will pass Earth at a distance of 1,080,000 miles.
Considering the size of these asteroids, they will not be visible to the naked eye. However, they can be spotted using specialised telescopes. Scientists will collect data from these asteroids to further understand these celestial bodies and their functions.
Three asteroids recently passed near Earth on October 14—asteroid 2024 TA12, a small asteroid that’s the size of a car; asteroid 2021 TK11; and asteroid 2024 TH3.
Asteroids are rocky objects that contain a combination of metals and minerals and can also be considered minor planets. A typical asteroid will be between 33 ft to 329 miles in size. In most cases, asteroids revolve around the sun in the main asteroid belt, and some of these asteroids escape the belt and a few of these will be attracted by Earth’s gravitational pull.