Both rocks will pass well beyond the moon's orbit.
Two skyscraper-size asteroids are zooming toward Earth this weekend, with one making its closest approach on Friday and the second whizzing by on Saturday .
The first asteroid, dubbed 2016 CZ31, will fly by around 7 p.m. ET on Friday, whizzing at an estimated 34,560 mph across at its widest point, making it about as wide as a 40-story building is tall. The asteroid will safely miss our planet, passing about 1,740,000 miles out from Earth — or more than seven times the average distance between Earth and the moon. According to NASA, this space rock makes close approaches to Earth every few years, with the next one scheduled for January 2028.
As such, space agencies take planetary defense very seriously. In November 2021, NASA launched an asteroid-deflecting spacecraft called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test , which will slam directly into the 525-foot-wide asteroid Dimorphos in autumn 2022. The collision won't destroy the asteroid, but it may change the space rock's orbital path slightly, Live Science previously reported.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
There Appears to Be a Huge Chunk of an Ancient Planet Buried Inside EarthTheia's impact with the Earth created the Moon — and perhaps left some shrapnel behind.
Read more »
Chinese Rocket Officially Plummeting Down to EarthA massive piece of Chinese space junk is slowly making its descent back down to Earth — and nobody is entirely sure where it will fall.
Read more »
Alarm as Earth hits 'Overshoot Day' Thursday: NGOsMankind marks a dubious milestone Thursday, the day by which humanity has consumed all earth can sustainably produce for this year, with NGOS warning the rest of 2022 will be lived in resource deficit.
Read more »