Asteroid passing Earth will be closer than moon

asteroid
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

An asteroid is headed this way. But even though it will come closer than the moon, astronomers say it will pose no danger.

The newly discovered asteroid, called 2014 DX110, will hurtle between the moon and Earth on Wednesday. DX110 will pass an estimated 217,000 miles from Earth.

That's approximately nine-tenths of the distance between the and Earth.

The asteroid is an estimated 45 to 130 feet across.

Relatively close approaches like this occur all the time, although DX110 is extra close.

More information: NASA: neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/

Minor Planet Center: minorplanetcenter.net/

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Citation: Asteroid passing Earth will be closer than moon (2014, March 4) retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2014-03-asteroid-earth-closer-moon.html
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