Current:Home > ContactThis Valentine's Day, love is in the air and a skyscraper-sized asteroid is whizzing past Earth -MarketStream
This Valentine's Day, love is in the air and a skyscraper-sized asteroid is whizzing past Earth
View
Date:2025-04-17 09:17:43
It's Valentine's Day, meaning love is in the atmosphere and a giant space rock is expected to pass by just outside of it. Well, maybe not that close, but still pretty close – 4.6 million kilometers or roughly 2.86 million miles – to be more precise.
The asteroid, named 2024 BR4 by NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), is loosely estimated to measure between 140 and 300 meters, or 459 and 984 feet in diameter, which is taller than most skyscrapers. Due to its size, it has been deemed "potentially hazardous" by NASA.
Here's what to know about the celestial event.
We're not the only ones with an eclipse:Mars rover captures moon whizzing by sun's outline
When will asteroid 2024 BR4 pass by Earth?
Asteroid 2024 BR4 will pass by Earth on Feb. 14, 2024, around 11:00 UTC.
What is asteroid 2024 BR4?
See a video:NASA tracked a stadium-size asteroid that passed by Earth but was not a threat
The asteroid was first observed during the automatic Catalina Sky Survey in January and was soon after determined to be about 12 million kilometers, or 7.5 million miles, from Earth. It has since approached Earth steadily but is not expected to pass any closer than 4.6 million kilometers, which is still relatively close: a little less than twelve times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
2024 BR4 is believed to be part of a group of asteroids called Apollo, which has an orbit that sometimes overlaps with Earth's. Despite the group's closeness to our planet, scientists don't anticipate any significant impact threat for a few centuries.
Should we be worried about the asteroid?
While the object is traveling through space at about 9.86 kilometers per second, NASA has assured there is no threat of collision. With a tracking system that has recorded 33,000 near-Earth objects, the organization keeps close tabs on all observable space bodies that get a little too close.
This Valentine's Day is the closest this specific space object will get to Earth for the next 120 years, meaning we can rest assured that this asteroid, at least, isn't out to get us anytime soon.
veryGood! (91283)
Related
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Haley Joel Osment Reveals Why He Took a Break From Hollywood In Rare Life Update
- Hurricane Ernesto makes landfall on Bermuda as a category 1 storm
- South Africa’s du Plessis retains middleweight UFC title
- Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
- Harris and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on top issues in presidential race
- New Jersey man sentenced to 7 years in arson, antisemitic graffiti cases
- Noah Lyles claps back at Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill: 'Just chasing clout'
- Illinois Gov. Pritzker calls for sheriff to resign after Sonya Massey shooting
- Her name was on a signature petition to be a Cornel West elector. Her question: What’s an elector?
Ranking
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Orange County police uncover secret drug lab with 300,000 fentanyl pills
- Shooting kills 2 and wounds 2 in Oakland, California
- Russian artist released in swap builds a new life in Germany, now free to marry her partner
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- General Hospital's Cameron Mathison Shares Insight Into Next Chapter After Breakup With Wife Vanessa
- Monday's rare super blue moon is a confounding statistical marvel
- What to know about 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and championship race
Recommendation
Tony Hawk drops in on Paris skateboarding and pushes for more styles of sport in LA 2028
Bridgerton Season 4: Actress Yerin Ha Cast as Benedict's Love Interest Sophie Beckett
Harris' economic plan promises voters affordable groceries and homes. Don't fall for it.
Perdue recalls 167,000 pounds of chicken nuggets after consumers find metal wire in some packages
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
The-Dream calls sexual battery lawsuit 'character assassination,' denies claims
Former Alabama police sergeant pleads guilty to excessive force charge
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword, Baby, Do You Like This Beat?