NASA Spots 2 Asteroids To Fly Past Earth This Weekend

KEY POINTS

NASA detected two asteroids approaching Earth this weekend
One of the asteroids follows an Earth-crossing orbits
Both asteroids could cause mid-air explosions if they hit Earth

NASA’s automated asteroid tracking system has detected two near-Earth objects that will approach Earth this weekend. According to the data collected by the agency, one of the approaching asteroids has an Earth-crossing orbit.

The first asteroid that will approach Earth this weekend has been identified by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) as 2020 KW5. This asteroid measures about 102 feet wide. CNEOS estimated that it would fly past Earth at a speed of over 43,000 miles per hour.

Trailing behind 2020 KW5 is a slightly smaller asteroid known as 2020 KZ4. According to CNEOS, this asteroid has an estimated diameter of about 98 feet. It is currently traveling across the Solar System at an average velocity of almost 15,000 miles per hour.

2020 KW5 is classified as an Apollo asteroid due to its natural Earth-crossing orbit. 2020 KZ4, on the other hand, doesn’t intersect Earth’s path. It has been classified as an Amor asteroid.

Given the sizes of these two asteroids, they most likely won’t cause an impact event if they ended up colliding with Earth. Instead of hitting the ground, 2020 KW5 and 2020 KZ4 will probably explode mid-air shortly after entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Unfortunately, mid-air explosions caused by asteroids are not always harmless. For instance, in 2013, an asteroid smaller than 2020 KW5 and 2020 KZ4 entered the atmosphere.

The 66-foot asteroid burned up in the sky and exploded mid-air over a populated city in Russia. According to reports, the energy from the blast was equivalent to that of about 30 atomic bombs. Although most of the blast’s energy was absorbed by the atmosphere, the small portion that reached the ground was powerful enough to damage over 7,000 buildings and injure about 1,500 people.

Fortunately, 2020 KW5 and 2020 KZ4 are not in danger of hitting Earth during their upcoming visits. According to CNEOS, 2020 KW5 will safely fly past the planet on Sunday (May 31) at 11:53 p.m. EDT from a distance of 0.01601 astronomical units or about 1.5 million miles away.

2020 KZ4, on the other hand, will approach Earth on May 31 at 3:23 p.m. EDT. During this time, the asteroid will be about 2 million miles from the planet’s center.