According to NASA, an asteroid the size of an airplane is expected to cross Earth next week. NASA specialists are eager to explain that the event will be “more routine than remarkable,” despite the fact that word of the massive rock’s approach has been making headlines.
The asteroid, officially designated 2025 OW, is said to be 220 feet in size. It will pass Earth on Monday, July 28 with 390,000 miles remaining, according to NASA’s plan. NASA’s online visualization of the massive space rock is available for viewing.
This is almost 1.6 times the typical distance to the moon, according to NASA. The moon and Earth are typically separated by roughly 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers). Although it may seem extremely fast, the 2025 OW is traveling at 46,908 miles per hour, which is quite normal and shouldn’t cause any concern.
Speaking to ABC News, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory media relations specialist Ian O’Neill said: “This is very routine. If there was a threat, you would hear from us. We would always put out alerts on our planetary defence blog.”
According to Davide Farnocchia, a fellow NASA specialist in the space center’s Near-Earth Object Studies division, the incoming asteroid is ‘simply another day at the office’. He stated, “Close approaches happen all the time, it’s just part of the fabric of the solar system.”
Every week, NASA monitors asteroids that pass close to Earth. While 2025 OW is under observation, scientists confirm it poses no threat due to its predictable orbit. However, excitement is building for the 2029 flyby of Apophis, a once-feared asteroid that will safely pass just 20,000 miles from Earth—closer than some satellites. Discovered in 2004, Apophis was once thought to be a potential threat, but NASA now assures it won’t pose danger for at least 100 years.
