KEY POINTS

  • Asteroid 2022 QX4 is the biggest of the five and measures 140 ft in diameter
  • Asteroid NEO 2022 QP4 is the smallest of the five and is 40 feet in diameter
  • NASA's DART mission is meant to target and redirect rogue asteroids

It is going to be an asteroid weekend. Five asteroids are expected to fly by earth between Friday and Monday.

According to NASA's Asteroid Watch, the following five asteroids are on their way to fly by Earth.

1. Asteroid NEO 2022 QP4

  • It will fly by Earth on Friday at a distance of 1,396,682 kilometers
  • Comparatively smaller in size, the asteroid is 40 feet in diameter- equivalent to a bus
  • This space rock, at the speed of 7 kilometers per second or 25000 Kmph, will skim past earth at almost 3.6 times the distance between Earth and Moon
  • It will then reach Mars on Dec. 31

2. Asteroid NEO 2022 QQ4

  • It will coast past planet earth on Saturday
  • Traveling at the same speed as the previous asteroid, this asteroid is estimated to be more than double the size of the previous one, measuring 110 ft
  • The asteroid 2022 QQ4 will revisit Earth on Aug. 18, 2131
A photo of the asteroid Bennu taken by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
A photo of the asteroid Bennu taken by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona / HO

3. Asteroid NEO 2022 QP3

  • It will pay earth a visit on Sunday
  • This asteroid is similar in size to the second asteroid and measures 110 ft in diameter
  • However, it is traveling faster at a speed of 8 kilometers per speed which is around 29000 kmph
  • The space rock will be at a distance of 5.51 million kilometers
  • This asteroid, too, will return to Earth on Aug. 16, 2025

Monday will see not one, but two asteroids greeting the planet.

4. Asteroid 2022 QX4

  • It is the biggest of the five and measures 140 ft in diameter
  • This asteroid's first recorded visit was in 1977
  • Moving past Earth at a distance of 1.8 million kilometers, its speed will be 29000 Kmph
  • The asteroid will meet us again on Sept. 9, 2026

5. Asteroid 2017 BU

  • First detected on Jan. 19, 2017, Asteroid 2017 BU is 100 ft large in size and will pass at a distance of 6.5 million kilometers
  • Slightly slower than the other asteroids, 2017 BU has a speed of 25000 Kmph
  • This asteroid will see flyby again after 29 years on Feb. 5, 2051

With so many asteroids visiting us in a span of 4 days, one wonders, what will happen if one of them were to hit the earth. Fear not, NASA has a mission planned completely on this aspect.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a program to change the motion of an asteroid in space. It is a planetary defense technique against rogue asteroids and other Near-Earth Objects.

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NASA Asteroid