NASA Asteroid Tracker: 853ft 'Potentially Hazardous' NEO Headed For Earth This Week

An asteroid classified by NASA as potentially hazardous is currently on its way to Earth. According to the data collected by the space agency, the approaching asteroid is bigger than the Golden Gate Bridge towers.

Details regarding the asteroid, which is called 2010 PK9, was collected by NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). According to CNEOS, the massive space rock is currently traveling at a speed of almost 37,000 miles per hour and has an estimated diameter of around 853 feet.

CNEOS estimated that 2010 PK9 will approach Earth on July 26 at 3:04 pm ST. During this time, the asteroid will fly at a distance of about 0.02107 astronomical units or roughly 1.9 million miles from the Earth’s center.

According to CNEOS’ database, 2010 PK9 is an Aten asteroid. This means its orbit around the Sun intersects with that of Earth from time to time. This is what led the agency to classify it as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA).

“[PHAs] are currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid’s potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth,” CNEOS said in a statement.

“Specifically, all asteroids with a minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.05 [astronomical units] or less and an absolute magnitude of 22.0 or less are considered PHAs,” it added.

2010 PK9 was first observed on Aug. 5, 2010. Through studies on its trajectory, researchers from CNEOS were able to identify the asteroid’s previous close-planet approaches. Aside from Earth, the researchers discovered that the asteroid also frequently visits Mercury and Venus.

The earliest record of 2010 PK9’s flyby happened on June 1, 1900, when it zipped past Mercury from a distance of about 0.04451 astronomical units or around 4.1 million miles away.

The last time 2010 PK9 was in Earth’s neighborhood happened on Sept. 3, 2018. During this time, the asteroid approached the planet from a distance of roughly 0.17213 astronomical units or around 16 million miles away.

Following this week’s approach, 2010 PK9 will be visiting Mercury and Venus. CNEOS predicted that the asteroid will return to Earth’s vicinity on Aug. 25, 2022.