NASA Asteroid Tracker: 3 NEOs Approaching Earth Tomorrow

KEY POINTS

NASA has detected three asteroids that are currently approaching Earth
2020 FZ2 is as big as the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy
All three asteroids have natural Earth-crossing orbits

NASA has detected three near-Earth objects that are currently headed for Earth. According to the agency, all approaching asteroids have Earth-intersecting orbits.

The first asteroid that’s expected to fly past Earth tomorrow is known as 2020 FM5. As indicated in the database of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), this asteroid has an estimated diameter of about 36 feet.

2020 FM5 will approach Earth tomorrow at 4:18 a.m. EDT with an average velocity of over 12,000 miles per hour. CNEOS noted that the asteroid would fly past the planet from a distance of 0.01291 astronomical units, which is equivalent to around 1.3 million miles away.

Trailing behind 2020 FM5 is an asteroid that has been identified as 2020 FT5. This asteroid measures about 125 feet wide. It is currently traveling across the Solar System towards Earth at an incredible speed of over 29,000 miles per hour.

According to CNEOS, 2020 FT5 will zip past Earth on March 27 at 5:12 a.m. EDT. During its approach, the asteroid will be about 0.02488 astronomical units or around 2.3 million miles away from the planet’s center.

The last asteroid that will visit Earth’s neighborhood tomorrow is called 2020 FZ2. Based on CNEOS’ database, 2020 FZ2 is the biggest and fastest asteroid that will fly past the planet tomorrow.

As noted by the agency, 2020 FZ2 has an estimated diameter of about 187 feet, which makes it slightly bigger than the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. It is moving towards Earth at a speed of almost 48,000 miles per hour.

According to CNEOS, 2020 FZ2 is expected to debut in Earth’s vicinity on March 27 at 5:24 p.m. EDT. During this time, the asteroid will approach the planet from a distance of about 0.03580 astronomical units or around 3.3 million miles away.

NASA noted that both 2020 FT5 and 2020 FZ2 are classified as Apollo asteroids. 2020 FM5, on the other hand, is a member of the Aten family of space rocks.

Although these asteroids belong to different groups, they all follow Earth-crossing orbits. This means they occasionally intersect Earth’s path as they complete their cycle around the Sun.