A Trio of Asteroids in Direction to Earth

We are waiting for three massive asteroids that are heading for Earth this week. Let's find out how dangerous they are!

As per the data compiled by NASA, the first one among them is the 361-feet asteroid '2016 PD1', which is going to fly around 2.7 million miles from Earth at a speed of 13,100 miles per hour. Classified as an Amor asteroid, 2016 PD1 does not intersect the Earth’s path. So, it cannot be considered as a potentially hazardous asteroid.

The next one, a flying rock, also known as 2002 JR100, is expected to approach Earth, on August 27. Travelling at a speed of almost 18,800 miles per hour, this asteroid is significantly faster and slightly smaller than 2016 PD1. This 269-feet long asteroid belongs to the group of Aten asteroids. Many of them are classified as potentially hazardous asteroids because, by definition, Atens are Earth-crossing asteroids. During the approach, 2002 JR100 will be approximately 4.6 million miles from the Earth’s center. That’s why this asteroid also cannot be identified as a dangerous one.

The last of this trio of asteroids that will fly closest to Earth also have the biggest diameter of around 525 feet. 2019 OU1 is racing through space at a velocity of 29,000 miles per hour and will approach Earth on August 28 at 6:36 am EDT. According to CNEOS, at the time of approach, this huge space rock will only be about 640,000 miles from our planet’s center. Therefore, it will only zip past Earth without posing any potential harm.

Check up the position of these asteroids in Star Walk 2 app and keep up with the sky news!