Will These Two Asteroids Come Close Enough For Impact?

Asteroid 2021 CO1 will be at its closest to planet Earth as it will get this decade when it brushes by Monday, one of two space objects expected to make a pass.

The Jet Propulsion Lab reports that two asteroids, 2021 CO1 and 2021 CU, will pass by the planet on Monday. The closest of the two, 2021 CO1, is passing by at a distance of about 1.1 million miles away, according to TheSkyLive.com. Asteroid 2021 CU brushes past at a distance of 1.3 million miles from Earth.

The Moon is about 238,000 miles away, depending on the day. Still, those asteroids qualify as near-Earth objects (NEOs), which NASA describes as an object that comes within 1.3 astronomical units, or approximately 120 million miles.

Earth got an even closer scare Tuesday, however, when asteroid 2021 CX1 came within 491,000 miles.

The JPL’s Center for Near Earth studies finds asteroid 1999 AN10 is among the closest-ever NEOs. In six years, it will pass by at a distance of about 19,000 miles around Aug. 7. Asteroid 2020 QG, however, holds the record, whisking by at a dangerously-close 1,830 miles away.

“The miss distance is still very uncertain, and the asteroid could easily pass well outside the Moon’s orbit,” the center explained. “The probability of a collision in 2027 is essentially zero.”

Near-Earth objects are nothing new. Since these asteroids are known to cross Earth’s trajectory, this means there’s a chance that they might collide with the planet in the future. However, due to their sizes and speed, these asteroids most likely won’t cause a major impact event on the ground.

World leaders have taken notice through agencies such as the multilateral Spaceguard program and NASA’s Near-Earth Office.