Does Our World Shake?
NASA has issued a notice that a bus-sized asteroid is set to pass by Earth tomorrow evening, and it won’t make another close approach for over a century.
This asteroid, known as 2025 QV5, is expected to come within 500,000 miles of our planet. As reported by LiveScience, it’s quite fascinating to think about.
According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), this asteroid is approximately 35 feet long, similar to a small bus, and will be hurtling through space at a speed of over 13,900 miles per hour.
Fortunately, we don’t need to worry about any potentially disastrous consequences, either now or in the foreseeable future.
2025 QV5 orbits the sun every 359.4 days, drifting between the orbits of Earth and Venus—it kind of makes you visualize a heavenly custody battle, doesn’t it?
Given its unusual trajectory, such space rocks hardly ever crash into Earth.
Even though it might give you a little shiver thinking about it approaching, NASA doesn’t classify 2025 QV5 as “potentially hazardous” since it’s too small. Typically, “potentially hazardous” means being larger than 460 feet in diameter and coming within 30 million miles of Earth.
Most of these projectiles tend to disintegrate in our atmosphere.
Still, researchers are eager to gather as much data as they can about this Near Earth Object (NEO).
However, this asteroid won’t return until September 4, 2125, when it will be about 830,000 miles from Earth.
But 2025 QV5 isn’t alone in its celestial journey.
Nasa is also keeping an eye on another asteroid, 2025 QD8, which is anticipated to be just 136,000 miles away from Earth—comfortable distance, right? This will occur at around 10:57 AM EST on September 3, according to Earth Moon Distance.
Measuring about 71 feet in diameter—roughly the size of a plane—and traveling at 28,600 miles per hour, this asteroid isn’t a threat to our planet either.
For those interested in astronomy, there’s a chance to view 2025 QD8 live. Coverage will start tonight at 7 PM on a YouTube channel hosted by the Virtual Telescope Project, so you might want to tune in!
