Today, Earth had a close call with four big space rocks! One of them was really huge, about 140 feet long! But don’t worry, they didn’t hit us. Scientists are relieved about that. However, there’s another big asteroid on the way, and it’s even larger. It’s called Asteroid 2024 EU4, and it’s 420 feet wide. That’s bigger than most asteroids that come close to Earth. It’s zooming towards us at a super fast speed, about 101,885 km/h!
This asteroid is making a close pass by Earth on March 23rd, getting within 4.5 million miles of us. That might seem far, but if it changes course even a little bit, it could be dangerous for us.
Is it dangerous? Well, because it’s so big and getting relatively close, NASA says it’s a potentially hazardous object. But don’t panic! NASA is keeping a close eye on it and says it will stay a safe distance away when it flies by.
How do asteroids get their names? Well, scientists use a system managed by the International Astronomical Union. When someone spots a new asteroid on two different nights, they send the info to the Union. Then, the asteroid gets a temporary name based on the year it was found and the order it was discovered. So, for example, an asteroid found in January might be called something like “1992 AA,” and one found later might be “1992 BA.” They keep naming them in order like that throughout the year.