American space agency NASA has said that a "city killer" asteroid will pass by Earth on Wednesday (February 7, 2024). On its closest approach, the celestial object will be 5.4 million kilometres away from our planet. The asteroid named 2023 SP1 will be zipping along at about 11.79 kmph and measures roughly 244 metres across, or roughly the size of a US football stadium, according to NASA. According to a web page on NASA's jet propulsion laboratory (JPL), the asteroid will next fly by Earth on October 7, 2027.
Some asteroids are given the title of "city killers" because they are capable of destroying an entire city if they collide with an inhabited part of Earth.
However, this asteroid will be too small and far away to see without a telescope.
An image of the potentially hazardous asteroid Celestron C14+Paramount ME+SBIG ST8-XME robotic unit and made available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project.
When the image was clicked, 2023 SP1 was at about 6.4 million of km from the Earth and it was slowly approaching the planet.
Scientists have identified more than 34,000 near-Earth objects so far. Out of these, just over 2,300 have been designated potentially hazardous.
The JPL has a page where it lists the next five close approaches. But NASA suspects there are many more out there that haven't been discovered. If a giant asteroid were on course to hit Earth, experts say we need five to 10 years of warning to destroy or deflect it.
The JPL is also working on the Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission, set to launch in September 2027. It would send an infrared space telescope into Earth's orbit to expand NASA's search for near-Earth objects that could threaten our planet.
