THREE giant asteroids will barrel past the planet this weekend on a so-called Close Earth Approach, NASA has warned.

The asteroids will zip past our home world within hours of each other on Saturday, November 10.

NASA predicts the first asteroid, dubbed Asteroid 2018 VS1, will pass the Earth around 2.03pm GT (UTC).

The asteroid’s passage will mark the first Earth flyby of the space rock in five years.

Astronomers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California estimate Asteroid VS1 measures anywhere between 42ft and 91.86ft (13m and 28m).

NASA asteroid warning: There is no risk of the three asteroids hitting Earth any time soon (Image: GETTY)

At the upper end of the estimate, the imposing asteroid measures more than 2.5-times the length of a London double-decker bus.

An asteroid impact of this size could potentially injure thousands of people.

NASA’s trajectory estimates suggest the asteroid will come as close as 0.00927 astronomical units (au) or 3.62 Lunar Distances (LD) of Earth.

One astronomical unit is the equivalent of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, meaning Asteroid VS1 will come as close as 861,700 miles (1.38 million km) of the planet.

The distance is roughly equivalent of 3.62-times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Shortly after, Asteroid 2018 VR1 will swing by from a much farther distance.

The asteroid is comparable in size and speed to Asteroid VS1 but will only come as close as 3.12 million miles (5.03 million km).

NASA’s JPL expects the space rock to reach its closest point to Earth around 2.19pm GMT.

The asteroid measures somewhere in the range of 45.9ft to 98.42ft (14m to 30m).

At 98.42ft, the asteroid is about five times as tall as an average giraffe and is twice as tall as the Hollywood Sign in California.

Based on NASA’s calculations, this is the first and last time the space rock will make a Close Approach to Earth.

Later in the afternoon, the third asteroid will shoot past the planet.

Asteroid 2018 VX1 is the smallest of the three asteroids but will also come closest to the planet – closer than the Moon.

At about 6.21pm GMT, Asteroid VX1 will close the distance between itself and the Earth to 0.99 LD or 0.00255au.

Note that a ‘close’ passage astronomically can be very far away in human terms

This is the equivalent of just 237,037 miles (381,474 km).

In astronomical terms, this is an incredibly close brush and warrants interest from NASA’s asteroid trackers.

The space agency explained: “As they orbit the Sun, Near-Earth Objects can occasionally approach close to Earth.

NASA asteroid warning: The closest of the three will approach closer than the Moon (Image: GETTY)

“Note that a ‘close’ passage astronomically can be very far away in human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometres.”

Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are any asteroids and comets with a trajectory of less than 1.3au – 120.8 million miles (194.47 million km).

Many of these speeding objects are classified as Potentially Hazardous Objects (PHAs) if they approach Earth closer than 0.05au – 4.64 million miles (7.47 million km).

Asteroid VX1 is estimated to measures somewhere between 24.9ft and 55.77ft (7.6m and 17m) in diameter.

Share This Post