An airplane-size asteroid provides Earth a end shave nowadays

An asteroid the size of a jumbo jet might maybe presumably maybe hold a end bump into with Earth nowadays (Sept. 1), zooming past our planet at about one-third the frequent distance to the moon. 

Asteroid 2011 ES4 will manufacture its closest come nowadays at 12: 12 p.m. EDT (1612 GMT), constant with NASA. In the intervening time, it will seemingly be about 75,400 miles (121,000 kilometers) from Earth. Since the article’s orbit is no longer wisely identified, it might maybe presumably maybe also pass even nearer than that, at a distance of correct 45,400 miles (73,000 km), NASA added. 

“Will asteroid 2011 ES4 hit Earth? No!,” NASA’s Asteroid Seek for outreach arm wrote on Twitter. “2011 ES4’s end come is ‘end’ on an tall scale but poses no risk of truly hitting Earth.”

The asteroid measures someplace between 72 toes to 161 toes in diameter (22 to 49 meters), or about the size of a industrial airliner. All the map through its end come, it will seemingly be touring at a tempo of 18,253 mph (29,376 kph).

Video: Airplane-size asteroid to slip end to Earth – Orbit animation


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Asteroid 2011 ES4 changed into once realized by astronomers using the Mount Lemmon Glimpse at the University of Arizona on March 2, 2011, decrease than two weeks before the issue rock’s first identified flyby of Earth. 

However astronomers were handiest capable of query the asteroid for four days before it became too faint, and it has no longer been in the present day noticed since, constant with EarthSky.org. This lack of commentary data come that there might maybe be some uncertainty by calculating its exact trajectory. 

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Will #asteroid 2011 ES4 hit Earth? 🌎 No! 2011 ES4’s end come is “end” on an tall scale but poses no risk of truly hitting Earth. #PlanetaryDefense experts quiz it to soundly pass by no longer decrease than 45,000 miles (792,000 soccer fields) away on Tuesday Sept. 1.August 28, 2020

Though this asteroid has been identified to astronomers for practically a decade, quite loads of asteroids that slip by Earth plod undetected till the final minute — or dwell unknown till after the flyby has came about. As an illustration, two weeks within the past the newfound asteroid 2020 QG made the closest scheme-omit on yarn, and it wasn’t realized till six hours later.  

Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or scream her on Twitter @hannekescience. Be conscious us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Fb.