NASA reports that a massive 350-foot asteroid will come close to Earth today – find out the distance it will pass by

Two asteroids came close to Earth yesterday, with one measuring nearly 120 feet wide, almost the size of an aircraft. Despite their proximity, these asteroids were not a danger to Earth and had no chance of hitting the planet. NASA explains that these close encounters occur due to the gravitational pull of large planets, which can redirect asteroids towards Earth, potentially leading to an impact. Using advanced technology, the US Space Agency has identified another asteroid that is expected to pass by Earth today, February 29.

Asteroid 2024 CA7: Details of the close approach

NASA says this asteroid has been named Asteroid 2024 CA7 by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), an organization that studies NEOs and their potential impact on the planet. It is predicted to pass the Earth at a distance of about 5.69 million kilometers. Although this distance may seem large, it is astronomically smaller.

According to the space agency, the asteroid has been tracked in orbit and is heading towards Earth at a breakneck speed of 116,965 kilometers per hour, which is almost twice the speed of the space shuttle!

How big is it?

NASA says the asteroid approaching Earth is not large enough to be classified as a potentially hazardous object. Asteroid 2024 CA7 is estimated to be nearly 350 feet across, which is not large enough to be classified as a potentially hazardous object. It is almost the size of a building!

It 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.

This is the first ever close approach of Asteroid 2024 CA7. According to NASA CNEOS, it is not expected to pass the planet again in the near future.