NASA Tracker: Large Group Of Asteroids Approaching Earth On Thursday

NASA’s automated asteroid tracking system has detected a massive group of near-Earth objects approaching the planet. According to the agency’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), a total of eight asteroids will fly past Earth on Thursday (May 28).

As indicated in CNEOS’ database, four of the approaching asteroids will visit Earth’s vicinity tomorrow morning. These asteroids have been identified as 2020 KM4, 2020 KW4, 2020 KF5 and 2020 KJ4. The biggest among these is 2020 KW4, which measures about 105 feet wide. This is followed by 2020 KM4 with an estimated diameter of 52 feet.

2020 KF5 and 2020 KJ4, on the other hand, measure about 26 and 21 feet wide, respectively. These four asteroids will fly past Earth on the morning of May 28 at speeds of over 11,000 miles per hour.

According to CNEOS, 2020 KM4 will approach Earth at 3:59 a.m. EDT from a distance of 0.00608 astronomical units or roughly 565,000 miles away. Its visit will be followed by the arrival of 2020 KW4 at 5:31 a.m. EDT. This asteroid will fly past Earth from 0.01072 astronomical units or 996,000 miles away.

As for 2020 KF5 and 2020 KJ4, these asteroids will approach Earth from much closer distances than 2020 KM4 and 2020 KW4. According to CNEOS, 2020 KF5 will zip past the planet at 7:49 a.m. EDT from about 0.00165 astronomical units or roughly 153,000 miles away.

2020 KJ4, on the other hand, will approach Earth at 8:21 a.m. EDT from a very close distance of only 0.00096 astronomical units or 89,000 miles away.

The other four approaching asteroids will enter Earth’s vicinity starting tomorrow afternoon. At 4:03 p.m. EDT, Earth will get a visit from the 118-foot wide asteroid known as 2020 JM1, which will fly past the planet from a distance of 0.02443 astronomical units or 2.3 million miles away.

The next asteroid that will zip past Earth on Thursday is 2020 JV2, which measures about 144 feet wide. According to CNEOS, this asteroid will approach Earth at 7:08 p.m. EDT from about 0.02364 astronomical units or 2.2 million miles away.

Trailing behind 2020 JV2 is another massive asteroid known as 2020 KB. CNEOS estimated that this space rock measures about 217 feet wide. It will fly past Earth at 7:41 p.m. EDT from about 0.01923 astronomical units or about 1.8 million miles away.

The last asteroid that will approach Earth soon is called 2020 KD3, which spans about 105 feet wide. This space rock will reach its closest distance from Earth at 8:03 p.m. EDT. During this time, it will be about 0.02013 astronomical units or roughly 1.9 million miles from the planet.