An asteroid approaches the Earth.Photo:GettyAn asteroid the size of a football stadium whizzed past Earth on Friday, and it will be back in less than a decade.The massive space rock is about 890 feet in size, according toNASA. (That’s more than double the size of the Empire State Building in New York City.)At its closest point, the asteroid was about 1,770,000 miles away from the planet, or nearly 7.5 times the distance between the Earth and Moon, the agency said.Objects larger than about 150 meters in size are deemed “potentially hazardous” should they get within 4.6 million miles (19.5 times the distance to the moon) of the planet, according to NASA.Experts suggest asteroids of this size have the potential to wipe out cities should they make contact with Earth, according toBusiness Insider. Some call these asteroids “city killers.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.However, the asteroid is not considered a “planet killer,” according toSpace.com. It is at least 70 times smaller than the Vredefort meteor, which wiped out dinosaurs more than 66 million years ago.This was the asteroid’s first time approaching Earth since 2016, according toUSA Today.The space rock, which was discovered in 2008, likely will not return to the area until around 2032, perthe Associated Press.Three other asteroids are expected to zoom past Earth on Friday, though they are described as being closer to the sizes of a house or airplane.
An asteroid approaches the Earth.Photo:Getty
Getty
An asteroid the size of a football stadium whizzed past Earth on Friday, and it will be back in less than a decade.The massive space rock is about 890 feet in size, according toNASA. (That’s more than double the size of the Empire State Building in New York City.)At its closest point, the asteroid was about 1,770,000 miles away from the planet, or nearly 7.5 times the distance between the Earth and Moon, the agency said.Objects larger than about 150 meters in size are deemed “potentially hazardous” should they get within 4.6 million miles (19.5 times the distance to the moon) of the planet, according to NASA.Experts suggest asteroids of this size have the potential to wipe out cities should they make contact with Earth, according toBusiness Insider. Some call these asteroids “city killers.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.However, the asteroid is not considered a “planet killer,” according toSpace.com. It is at least 70 times smaller than the Vredefort meteor, which wiped out dinosaurs more than 66 million years ago.This was the asteroid’s first time approaching Earth since 2016, according toUSA Today.The space rock, which was discovered in 2008, likely will not return to the area until around 2032, perthe Associated Press.Three other asteroids are expected to zoom past Earth on Friday, though they are described as being closer to the sizes of a house or airplane.
An asteroid the size of a football stadium whizzed past Earth on Friday, and it will be back in less than a decade.
The massive space rock is about 890 feet in size, according toNASA. (That’s more than double the size of the Empire State Building in New York City.)
At its closest point, the asteroid was about 1,770,000 miles away from the planet, or nearly 7.5 times the distance between the Earth and Moon, the agency said.
Objects larger than about 150 meters in size are deemed “potentially hazardous” should they get within 4.6 million miles (19.5 times the distance to the moon) of the planet, according to NASA.
Experts suggest asteroids of this size have the potential to wipe out cities should they make contact with Earth, according toBusiness Insider. Some call these asteroids “city killers.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
However, the asteroid is not considered a “planet killer,” according toSpace.com. It is at least 70 times smaller than the Vredefort meteor, which wiped out dinosaurs more than 66 million years ago.
This was the asteroid’s first time approaching Earth since 2016, according toUSA Today.
The space rock, which was discovered in 2008, likely will not return to the area until around 2032, perthe Associated Press.
Three other asteroids are expected to zoom past Earth on Friday, though they are described as being closer to the sizes of a house or airplane.
source: people.com
