NASA issues alert: Eiffel Tower sized asteroid to make ‘close encounter’ with Earth at 30,000 km/h this weekend

A colossal asteroid the scale of a 100-storey constructing is barreling previous Earth this weekend in a high-speed flyby that is captured the complete consideration of NASA’s asteroid trackers. Named 387746 (2003 MH4), the house rock spans 335 metres and can zip previous Earth at 4:07 PM IST on Might 24, travelling at a blistering 30,060 km/h — quick sufficient to orbit the planet in simply over an hour. NASA has labeled the flyby as a “close encounter,” and although the asteroid poses no menace of collision, its immense dimension and pace have put scientists on alert.

Belonging to the Apollo group of asteroids — these with orbits that cross Earth’s path — 2003 MH4 will go at a distance of 6.67 million kilometres, or about 17 instances the Earth-Moon distance. That’s shut sufficient to earn the “Potentially Hazardous Asteroid” tag, given its dimension exceeds 140 metres and it comes inside the 7.5 million kilometre threshold.

The priority isn’t this flyby, however what future trajectories may maintain. Even minor gravitational nudges from planets or refined forces just like the Yarkovsky impact, the place daylight slowly alters an asteroid’s path, might redirect such objects over time. “This weekend’s sighting is a warning, not a threat,” acknowledged NASA’s Centre for Close to-Earth Object Research (CNEOS).

Simply days earlier, on Might 21, a smaller asteroid named 2025 KF made a fair nearer go — simply 111,000 kilometres from Earth, or lower than a 3rd of the gap to the Moon. Found solely this yr, the 23-metre-wide rock drew comparisons to a stack of twelve and a half gorillas in top, in line with a whimsical WWF-based analogy.

Regardless of its dimension, 2025 KF is being handled significantly. Many house rocks usually are not stable however “rubble piles” — unfastened clusters of particles held collectively by gravity, which may shift or disintegrate underneath planetary affect. “If one of these rocks ever hit Earth, the destruction would be enormous,” consultants warn. The affect might rival hundreds of nuclear bombs, unleashing fires, tsunamis, and seismic shocks, adopted by mud clouds which may block daylight and set off a so-called “impact winter.”

CNEOS and different observatories proceed to scan the skies, not solely to detect new threats early but in addition to develop methods for deflecting or destroying them if wanted. For now, this flyby is a cosmic near-miss — and a potent reminder that in house, security isn’t assured.