This Asteroid Came As Close As 426,000 Miles To Earth, NASA Says

An asteroid just came very close to Earth, according to the data shared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This is Asteroid 2025 DU7. The space rock was travelling at an astonishing speed, which added to the tremendous destructive energy that it packs in case it were to crash into anything.

To put things in perspective about how close it will get to the Earth will be clear from the fact that our Moon is just about 239,000 miles away on an average.

However, while Asteroid 2024 YR4 had spread panic among astronomers and the common man alike, this one is not at all expected to pose any threat to Earth. NASA figures it will pass by Earth at this distance. Notably, Asteroid 2024 YR4 had, at one time, 3.1% chance of crashing into the Earth in 2032. However, the risk has now been whittled down to zero by NASA after more inputs from various other telescopes.

Asteroid tracking is an arduous and complicated job and NASA ground and space based gadgets keep an eye on all those dangerous asteroids that are known as well as identify new ones that keep coming up, just like Asteroid 2024 YR4. These telescopes along with modeling help NASA track asteroids and list then as near-Earth objects (NEOs) or potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs). The biggest problems that NASA faces is finding and tracking new asteroids that pop up from behind the Sun. The glare from the sunlight means all of NASA's instruments are practically blind to them. These asteroids are caught by NASA only after they come very near to Earth.

However, getting back to Asteroid 2025 DU7, NASA has shared a number of data points about it. First of all, it is a 15-foot asteroid and it made its closest Earth approach on Feb. 28. It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and has been classified as a NEO by the Small-Body Database Lookup. The asteroid is travelling at a speed of 7175 miles per hour.