NASA reports that an Apollo group asteroid measuring 43 feet will approach Earth at a distance as close as 1.6 million kilometers.

NASA’s Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), responsible for monitoring the skies and observing various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), has provided information on an asteroid that will pass Earth closely today, December 12. This particular space rock has been identified by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) as Asteroid 2023 XO1. To detect, monitor, and classify these celestial objects, NASA utilizes advanced ground and space-based telescopes such as NEOWISE, ALMA, Pans-STARRS1, and Catalina Sky Survey. Find out more about the specifics of this near encounter with Asteroid 2023 XO1.

Asteroid 2023 XO1: Close approach data

The asteroid will pass Earth today, December 12, at a distance of 1.6 million kilometers. It is already hurtling toward Earth in orbit, traveling at a speed of about 25969 kilometers per hour, which is even faster than an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)!

This space rock belongs to the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, which are space rocks that pass through the Earth and whose semi-major axes are larger than the Earth’s axis. These asteroids are named after the huge 1862 Apollo asteroid discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

How big is it?

NASA has also revealed details about the size of the asteroid, and it is not large enough to be classified as a “potentially hazardous asteroid” as it is significantly smaller than 492 feet. It’s about 43 feet wide, so it’s almost the size of a house.

Asteroid 2023 XO1 is just one of the asteroids scheduled to fly past Earth today, with three other asteroids also on the way, Asteroid 2023 XN3, Asteroid 2023 WO3 and Asteroid 2023 XZ2. NASA has also revealed that this asteroid first passed Earth on December 12, 1985 at a distance of about 1.7 million kilometers. After today, it will come close to Earth again next year, on August 21, at a distance of 53 million kilometers.