NASA Detects 5 Asteroids Approaching Earth This Weekend

KEY POINTS

Five near-Earth objects will approach the planet this weekend
The biggest asteroid to approach Earth this weekend is 590 feet wide
All asteroids are traveling towards Earth at over 15,000 miles per hour

NASA has spotted five asteroids that are expected to approach Earth this weekend. According to the agency, all approaching asteroids have Earth-crossing orbits.

The first asteroid that will fly past Earth this weekend has been identified by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) as 2019 WC5. As indicated in the data collected by the agency, this asteroid is currently flying towards Earth at a speed of 29,000 miles per hour. It has an estimated diameter of 590 feet.

Closely following 2019 WC5 is an asteroid known as 2019 YV5. This asteroid measures about 266 feet wide and is traveling at an average velocity of over 31,000 miles per hour.

Both asteroids will approach Earth on Jan. 11. 2019 WC5 will fly past Earth at 1:14 am EST from a distance of 0.01626 astronomical units or about 1.5 million miles away. This will be followed by the arrival of 2019 YV5 at 8:37 am EST. During this time, the asteroid will be about 0.04303 astronomical units or around 3.9 million miles from the planet’s center.

On Sunday, Earth will be visited by three asteroids. The first one is called 2020 AO1. According to CNEOS, this asteroid is moving towards Earth at speeds of almost 40,000 miles per hour. It has a diameter of about 361 feet. It will make its debut on Jan. 12 at 2:18 pm EST. During its approach, the asteroid will be about 0.02187 astronomical units or roughly 2 million miles from Earth.

The second asteroid that will approach Earth on Sunday has been identified as 2020 AB2. This asteroid is flying towards Earth at a speed of almost 18,000 miles per hour and has an estimated diameter of 79 feet. It will fly past Earth on Jan. 12 at 5:37 pm EST from a distance of 0.0098 astronomical units or about 911,000 miles.

The last asteroid that will visit Earth’s neighborhood is called 2020 AE. This asteroid is about 138 feet wide and is traveling at an average speed of 15,000 miles per hour. 2020 AE will approach Earth on Sunday at 11:40 pm EST from a distance of 0.02974 astronomical units or about 2.8 million miles away.