Whenever an asteroid, essentially a rock from space, approaches Earth, it is closely monitored. This includes tracking its path, speed, and direction. Because of these monitoring activities, October 24, 2024, has been a tense day for scientists. Two massive City Killer asteroids passed by Earth in the morning and afternoon. Two more are yet to pass and one of them is exceptionally large.
2015 HM1...
100 feet wide, passed by Earth at 10:06 AM, at a distance of 5.5 million km from Earth's surface.
2024 TP17...
170 feet wide, passed by Earth at 1:50 PM, at a distance of 4.7 million km from Earth's surface.
2002 NV16...
580 feet wide, is expected to pass by Earth at 9:17 PM, at a distance of 4.5 million km from Earth's surface.
2024 TR6...
150 feet wide, is expected to pass by Earth at 9:21 PM, at a distance of 5.6 million km from Earth's surface.
Source: aajtak
According to NASA, which are dangerous and which are not?
2024 TP17 and 2024 TR6 were only discovered on October 7 and 12, 2024, respectively. Annually, scientists identify 2,000 near-Earth objects, including these asteroids, as they have substantial chances of approaching closely. These four are categorized as potentially dangerous because they either have or will pass within 48 million kilometers of Earth's surface.
Source: aajtak
These asteroids will return in 15-16 years
None of these asteroids are large enough to cause catastrophic damage, but they could lead to significant destruction if they were to hit a city. However, Earth remains safely distanced from them for now. 2024 TP17 will return on August 5, 2039, and asteroid 2024 TR6 will pass by Earth again on October 25, 2040.
