NASA Asteroid Tracker: 8 Asteroids To Zip By Earth Tuesday

Several asteroids are set to fly past Earth this week, and three of them are bigger than the 185-foot Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Tuesday alone will see eight asteroids zooming past the planet based on the Close Approach Data Table of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

The first of the bunch to visit Earth’s vicinity is also one of the smallest. According to CNEOS's data, 2020 UR is around 52 feet across. At 12:04 a.m. EDT, this near-Earth object (NEO) is expected to safely pass by Earth at a distance of about 0.00900 astronomical units or 836,000 miles from the planet's surface.

2020 UB, whose diameter is roughly the same as 2020 UR's, is expected to zoom by at 1:16 a.m. EDT on Oct. 20. The major difference between 2020 UR and 2020 UB, however, is their distance from the planet as they make their flyby. The 2020 UB will zip past Earth at a distance of 0.00481 astronomical units or 447,000 miles.

According to CNEOS, 2020 UB1 will be the largest asteroid of the group at 239 feet across, which makes it taller than the 164-foot Arc de Triomphe in France. Luckily, this giant has not been included in the European Space Agency's Risk List and is anticipated to make its close approach about 0.02276 astronomical units or 2 million miles away from the planet at 4:25 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

The fourth NEO that will make its way past Earth is 2020 TC3. Though significantly smaller than 2020 UB1, this asteroid is still bigger than most of the eight space rocks at 216 feet. This asteroid will safely pass by the planet at a distance of around 3 million miles away at 6:33 a.m. EDT.

According to CNEOS, 2020 TW6 is set to make its way past Earth early afternoon on the same day. This 144-foot asteroid is about five times as long as a typical London double-decker bus. 2020 TW6 can be expected at 2:35 p.m. EDT, safely flying by at a distance of 2.5 million miles away from the planet.

2020 UP1 will be the sixth asteroid to visit Earth's vicinity on Tuesday and is considered an Apollo asteroid due to its Earth-crossing orbit. This NEO will be 0.04193 astronomical units or 3.9 million miles from the planet when it passes by at 4:12 p.m. EDT.

Following closely at 5:53 p.m. EDT is 2020 SG3 — also an Apollo asteroid but much larger than 2020 UP1 and 2020 TW6. With a diameter reaching 209 feet, 2020 SG3 is the third largest asteroid in the group. Fortunately, this NEO poses no threat to the planet as the ESA has not included it in its Risk List. 2020 SG3 will zip by Earth from about 4.6 million miles away.

Ending the day's asteroid party is 2020 UA — the smallest of the bunch. Though this 13-foot space rock is only about as long as a Volkswagen Beetle, it has been included in the ESA's Risk List together with 2020 UB and 2020 UP1. At 9:58 p.m. EDT, 2020 UA will be zipping past Earth from a short distance of 0.00030 astronomical units or 27,000 miles away.