Four asteroids whizzed past Earth on October 25, including the 'urban killer'.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that several asteroids will fly past Earth on October 25th, with four asteroids entering Earth's orbit in less than 12 hours.

The trajectory of 2002 NV16

Named 2002 NV16, the asteroid will arrive at a point approximately 4.5 million kilometers from Earth at 10:47 PM on October 25th (Vietnam time), according to Live Science .

This is the largest member of the "quartet" preparing to visit Earth, with a diameter of approximately 177 km.

Following closely behind is asteroid 2024 TR6, with a diameter of 46 meters, passing a point approximately 5.6 million kilometers from Earth at 22:51.

The other two asteroids, 2015 HM1 and 2024 TP17, also approached Earth in less than 12 hours compared to 2002 NV16 and 2024 TR6, at distances of approximately 5.5 million km and 4.6 million km, respectively.

These distances may seem quite far by Earth's standards. However, all four of these objects are on the list of potential threats to our planet because they are within 480 million kilometers of Earth.

Of these, 2002 NV16 is large enough that, upon impact with Earth, it could wipe out a major city on the planet's surface and trigger a ripple effect across the globe. Therefore, it is considered a "city killer".

In fact, astronomers have been raising concerns about the number of asteroids detected just before they fly past Earth.

Each year, the Catalina Sky Survey discovers approximately 2,000 near-Earth asteroids, which NASA defines as being larger than 140 meters and within 7.4 million kilometers of Earth.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/4-tieu-hanh-tinh-luot-qua-trai-dat-ngay-2510-gom-sat-thu-do-thi-185241025091031446.htm