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. To date, CNEOS is following about 28,000 NEOs — objects that approach Earth within 1.3 astronomical units .
"We check for collisions between any planet and asteroid, and we check for collisions on the moon," he said. In general, asteroid collisions with the moon are much less likely than collisions with Earth, because our planet is a more massive target with stronger. A wayward space rock that looped into our cosmic neighborhood would therefore be pulled toward Earth rather than toward the moon, Chodas explained.
Size also matters when scientists are considering the risk posed by a hurtling asteroid. For a NEO to be classified as a threat to Earth, it has to measure at least 460 feet in diameter, according to NASA. And for an asteroid impact to affect the moon's orbit, the asteroid would have to be at least as big as the moon itself, Chodas said.
"The moon is big, so it would have to be a huge object that would have to hit it at high speed," he said."You'd have to hit it with something that's hundreds and hundreds of miles in diameter."Luckily for us , none of the known asteroids in the solar system is anywhere near moon-size.
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