Latest news with #2025OX
Metro
5 days ago
- Science
- Metro
Asteroid the size of the Tower of Pisa to make close approach with Earth in days
If you've always wanted to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, all you'll need to do is look up next week. An asteroid roughly the size of the famous Italian landmark is currently hurtling towards Earth at 46,908 miles per hour. The space rock, 2025 OW, will drift past our planet next Monday at a distance of 393,000 miles – about 1.6 times the distance to the Moon. Space officials estimate the rock is about 220 feet across, making it larger than the Leaning Tower of Pisa at 185 feet. 2025 OW is one of five 'planet-sized' asteroids getting up, close and personal with our planet over the next few days, Nasa says. The space agency's Asteroid Watch Dashboard says that 2025 OK1, which is estimated to be about 100 feet across, will fly past us today at a distance of 1,360,000 miles. Another airplane-sized asteroid, 2025-OZ, is also doing a drive-by visit of our home today. As you read this, it's about 3,340,000 miles away. On Saturday, two more giant asteroids will pass by Earth on Saturday: the 110-foot-wide 2025 OX will be 2,810,000 miles above your head. While 2025 OU1, about 140 feet across, will be slightly closer at 1,660,000 miles. But none of these rocks are anything to lose sleep over, astrophysicist, science journalist Alfredo Carpineti told Metro. 'There are over 13,000 near-Earth objects of comparative size that occasionally get near our planet,' the senior writer for IFLScience said. 'They could be dangerous if they hit Earth, but fortunately, these five will all fly well beyond the movement of the Moon.' Asteroids are lumps of rock, dust and metal left behind from the formation of our star system 4.6billion years ago. Most do laps around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt, some as small as rubble, and others hundreds of miles in diameter. Earth will be slammed by an asteroid about 300 feet once a decade, while one 10 times the size impacts us every 700,000 years. A space rock measuring just 160 feet in diameter can easily devastate the local area and pockmark the Earth, unleashing a force similar to a nuclear bomb – these happen once a millennium. The so-called 'city-killer' asteroid, 2024 YR4, which officials briefly feared had a 3.1% chance of colliding with Earth, is suspected to be 300 feet across. Our planetary defence options include intentionally smashing a satellite into it to nudge it off course or detonating a nuclear bomb near it. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and the Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre in Italy keep an eye on all these rocks whizzing about. They calculate the odds of an asteroid impact as they plot out the possible orbits, which get more accurate as they observe them more. More Trending This is exactly the case with 2025 OW, with scientists being able to predict its orbit for the next century. As of July, Nasa has discovered more than 38,600 near-Earth asteroids, of which 872 are larger than a kilometre. At least seven wandered close to Earth last month alone, with Nasa keeping an eye on 1,798 near-Earth objects on its 'risk list', though all have next to no chance of striking Earth. 'Still,' continued Carpineti, 'it's important we keep tracking them to know we will stay safe in the future.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: We could get 'proof of aliens by Christmas' after 'interstellar visitor' flies past us MORE: Earth is spinning so fast that today will be shorter – but is time going faster? MORE: We're one step closer to living on the Moon – and it's thanks to something 'magic'
Ammon
7 days ago
- Science
- Ammon
NASA reports plane-sized asteroid nearing earth
Ammon News - NASA is monitoring an airplane-sized asteroid that is expected to zoom past the Earth on July 28 at a zippy 46,908 miles per hour. The space rock—known as 2025 OW—is estimated to be about 210 feet across and will make its closest approach to our next Monday, at a distance of around 393,000 miles, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). But 2025 OW isn't the only asteroid approaching us in the coming days. NASA is also tracking another airplane-sized space rock known as 2025 OX, which is estimated to be about 110 feet across, and will fly past the Earth on July 26 at a distance of 2,810,000 miles. Three more aircraft-sized space rocks are also expected to pass by Earth in the next few weeks. On July 28, asteroid 2018 BE5 will make its closest approach at a distance of just 2,580,000 miles; 2025 OR will pass within 3,040,000 miles on July 31; and, next month, 2019 CO1 will get within 4,240,000 miles of our home. According to NASA, asteroids are inactive bodies made of all the rocky, dusty and metallic materials left behind from the formation of our solar system. They are mainly concentrated within the main asteroid belt, orbiting around the sun between the paths of Mars and Jupiter, though some may end up in the inner solar system. Asteroids of various sizes can pose different levels of threat to our planet. Small ones around 30 feet impact Earth about once in a decade, causing a very bright fireball, and a strong sonic boom. They may sometimes also break nearby windows. Space rocks measuring 160 feet and over can cause local devastation and leave a crater. Thankfully, they only impact Earth about in 1,000 years. Depending on the impact location, larger space rocks—those that measure in at over 500 feet across—can cause deaths across populated metro areas and states, says NASA. Fortunately, they only hit the Earth around every 20,000 years.
Newsweek
22-07-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
NASA Reports Plane-Sized Asteroid Nearing Earth
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. NASA is monitoring an airplane-sized asteroid that is expected to zoom past the Earth on July 28 at a zippy 46,908 miles per hour. The space rock—known as 2025 OW—is estimated to be about 210 feet across and will make its closest approach to our next Monday, at a distance of around 393,000 miles, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). But 2025 OW isn't the only asteroid approaching us in the coming days. NASA is also tracking another airplane-sized space rock known as 2025 OX, which is estimated to be about 110 feet across, and will fly past the Earth on July 26 at a distance of 2,810,000 miles. Three more aircraft-sized space rocks are also expected to pass by Earth in the next few weeks. On July 28, asteroid 2018 BE5 will make its closest approach at a distance of just 2,580,000 miles; 2025 OR will pass within 3,040,000 miles on July 31; and, next month, 2019 CO1 will get within 4,240,000 miles of our home. A stock image shows an asteroid making a close approach to our planet. A stock image shows an asteroid making a close approach to our planet. getty images According to NASA, asteroids are inactive bodies made of all the rocky, dusty and metallic materials left behind from the formation of our solar system. They are mainly concentrated within the main asteroid belt, orbiting around the sun between the paths of Mars and Jupiter, though some may end up in the inner solar system. Asteroids of various sizes can pose different levels of threat to our planet. Small ones around 30 feet impact Earth about once in a decade, causing a very bright fireball, and a strong sonic boom. They may sometimes also break nearby windows. Space rocks measuring 160 feet and over can cause local devastation and leave a crater. Thankfully, they only impact Earth about in 1,000 years. Depending on the impact location, larger space rocks—those that measure in at over 500 feet across—can cause deaths across populated metro areas and states, says NASA. Fortunately, they only hit the Earth around every 20,000 years. Asteroids that could cause global devastation are those measuring 3,000 feet and above. These rocks hit the Earth every 700,000 years, and can potentially cause the collapse of civilization. Rocks that measure over six miles across only impact our planet every 100 million years, but they can cause devastation across the planet, and are likely to also cause mass extinctions of life. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about asteroids? Let us know via science@
