Giant Asteroid to Make Closest Approach to Earth on Record
Get ready for a celestial show tonight! A massive asteroid, classified as “potentially dangerous” due to its size, will streak past our planet early tomorrow morning, making its closest approach to Earth ever recorded.
A Close Call? Not Quite
Don’t worry—”potentially dangerous” doesn’t mean this asteroid poses an immediate threat. Clocking in at a whopping 1,200 feet (366 meters) in diameter—about the size of a football stadium—this space rock, known as XR 2020, will still safely whiz by at a distance of 1.37 million miles (2.2 million kilometers) from Earth. While this might seem like a vast distance, it’s remarkably close in astronomical terms. In fact, it’s the closest any asteroid of this magnitude has ever been to our planet.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), XR 2020 will reach its minimum distance at 0:27 a.m. ET tomorrow. Astronomers emphasize the asteroid poses no danger to Earth.
“When astronomers first discovered XR 2020, there were some initial concerns,” explained one astronomer. “But by going back in time and finding the asteroid in old data, they were able to refine its trajectory and rule out any danger.”
Catching a Glimpse
For anyone yearning for cosmic observation, tonight offers a unique opportunity. You can catch the historic flyby via a free livestream hosted by the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP), starting at 1:30 p.m. ET today (December 3). XR 2020 is also visible with an 8-inch (20 centimeter) telescope, according to a statement from the European Space Agency (ESA).
A Distant History
This asteroid’s path isn’t entirely new. XR 2020 made a close approach to Earth in December 1977—though it hadn’t been discovered yet. At that time, it remained undetected, passing by roughly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) farther than its projected distance tonight.
A Long Wait for the Next Encounter
After tonight’s thrilling flyby, we won’t see XR 2020 this close again for quite some time. JPL estimates it won’t encounter Earth at a distance this close again until at least the year 2196.
Cilenty-five years later, the asteroid is expected to fly past our planet again in November 2028, but at a much greater distance.
What measures are in place to track potentially dangerous asteroids and predict their trajectories?
## Giant Asteroid to Make Closest Approach to Earth on Record
**Interviewer:** Joining us tonight is Dr. Amelia Chandra, an astrophysicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to discuss the exciting news of asteroid XR 2020’s close approach to Earth tomorrow. Dr. Chandra, thanks for being here.
**Dr. Chandra:** It’s a pleasure to be here.
**Interviewer:** So, a “potentially dangerous” asteroid is making its closest approach to Earth ever recorded. That sounds alarming! Could you tell our viewers what exactly this means?
**Dr. Chandra:** It certainly sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? But the key is understanding what “potentially dangerous” means in this context. XR 2020 is classified as such simply because of its size – at 1,200 feet, it’s about the size of the Empire State Building. [ [1](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nasa-alert-gigantic-1200-ft-asteroid-to-approach-earth-tomorrow-at-44-300-kmph-time-distance-and-more/ar-AA1vcpCo)]
**Interviewer:** That’s enormous!
**Dr. Chandra:** It is! And because it crosses Earth’s orbit, it’s labeled “potentially dangerous” out of an abundance of caution. However, rest assured, this asteroid is not on a collision course with Earth. It will pass us by at a safe distance of 1.37 miles. That may sound close in astronomical terms, but it’s effectively a vast gulf in space.
**Interviewer:** So, we don’t need to worry about an impact event?
**Dr. Chandra:** Absolutely not. This is a fantastic opportunity to observe a celestial object of this magnitude up close. Amateur astronomers with powerful telescopes may even be able to catch a glimpse of it.
**Interviewer:** Thank you, Dr. Chandra, for putting our minds at ease and shedding light on this magnificent celestial event.
**Dr. Chandra:** My pleasure. This is a reminder of the vastness and wonder of our universe.