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Two skyscraper - sizing asteroids are zooming toward Earth this weekend , with one pretend its close access on Friday ( July 29 ) and the 2d whizzing by on Saturday ( July 30 ) .
The firstasteroid , dubbed 2016 CZ31 , will vaporize by around 7 p.m. ET ( 23:00 GMT ) on Friday , purr at an estimated 34,560 mph ( 55,618 klick / h , grant to NASA .
Artist’s rendering of a near-Earth asteroid
uranologist forecast that the asteroid measures about 400 groundwork ( 122 meters ) across at its widest point , making it about as wide as a 40 - story building is marvelous . The asteroid will safely miss our major planet , passing about 1,740,000 miles ( 2,800,000 kilometers ) out fromEarth — or more than seven times the average distance between Earth and themoon . According toNASA , this outer space stone makes nigh approaches to Earth every few years , with the next one schedule for January 2028 .
Related : Why are asteroid and comets such weird form ?
On Saturday , a second , ever larger asteroid will skim past our major planet , albeit at a majuscule distance from Earth . That asteroid , named 2013 CU83 , measure approximately 600 feet ( 183 1000 ) across at its all-embracing seeable breaker point , and will pass by about 4,320,000 miles ( 6,960,000 kilometre ) from Earth , or about 18 prison term the average distance between Earth and the moon .
This colossal distance rock will be traveling at 13,153 mph ( 21,168 km / h ) when it near Earth at 7:37 p.m. ET ( 23:37 GMT ) .
Both of these close encounter are importantly further afield than theasteroid 2022 NF , which come within 56,000 miles ( 90,000 km ) — or about 23 % the modal distance between Earth and the lunation — on July 7 .
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NASA and other space representation intimately supervise M of near - Earth objects like these . Even if an asteroid ’s trajectory puts it millions of mi from our planet , there is an extremely slight opportunity that the asteroid ’s ambit could transfer more or less after interact with thegravityof a larger objective , such as a planet ; even such a tiny shift could potentially put an asteroid on a collision course with Earth on a future flyby .
As such , space authority take planetary defence very in earnest . In November 2021 , NASA launched an asteroid - deflecting space vehicle called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test ( DART ) , which will slam directly into the 525 - ft - extensive ( 160 thou ) asteroid Dimorphos inautumn2022 . The hit wo n’t ruin the asteroid , but it maychange the space rock ‘n’ roll ’s orbital pathslightly , Live Science previously reported . The charge will help test the viability of asteroid deflection , should some future asteroid pose an imminent danger to our planet .
earlier published on Live Science .
