With a diameter of up to 120 meters, asteroid 2019 OD soared past our planet moving at roughly 43,000 miles per hour at a distance of 222,160 miles from Earth, NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) said. The celestial object capable of inflicting massive damage was closer to Earth than our immediate satellite the Moon, which lies 238,900 miles away.
Asteroids 2019 OE and 2015 HM10 also zipped by Earth at a distance of 600,494 miles and 2,914,164 miles, respectively. NASA discovers an average of 30 Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) every week - and the chances of a large NEO colliding with Earth is astronomically small.
Comment: Unassuring assurance! See also:
- Astronomers spotted a car-size asteroid just hours before it exploded over Puerto Rico
- Nuke sensors detect asteroid explosion in the atmosphere over the Caribbean
- Are they finally taking the threat seriously? NASA teams with 'international partners' to plan asteroid impact exercise
- Earth may be in the middle of a giant asteroid spike
In June, a "potentially hazardous" asteroid flew by Earth at a distance of 4.2 million miles. A month earlier, an asteroid so large that it had its own moon came hurtling towards Earth - but never got within five million miles of us.
Won't be long now, before one with Earth's name on it comes hurtling in.