Plane-sized asteroid to pass Earth next week, NASA says
How big can they get?
NASA calculates that around every 2,000 years, a meteoroid the size of an American football field hits Earth.
What's a meteoroid?
These are small particles from a comet or asteroid.
What's a meteorite?
This is essentially a meteoroid that manages to pass through the Earth's atmosphere and hit the planet's surface.
Asteroids are fairly small, inactive, rocky bodies orbiting the Sun. Many of these sometimes pass by dangerously close to Earth. Asteroid orbits are constantly monitored. About once a year, an asteroid the size of a car hits Earth's atmosphere, but it goes up in flames before it reaches the planet's surface.
June (2008 DG5)
Date: June 5, 2025
Size: 310-690 m (1,017-2,264 ft)
Designated 424482 (2008 DG5), the asteroid is estimated to be larger than both the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge, placing it among the largest 3% of all known asteroids, according to Space Reference.
2018
A huge fireball was not detected until it exploded above Chelyabinsk, Russia. It was the second-largest fireball in 30 years, according to NASA records.
2017 (EA)
Date: March 2, 2017
Size: 1–5 m (3-16 ft)
Astronomers detected this asteroid only six hours before its closest approach to Earth.
2017 (UJ2)
Date: October 20, 2017
Size: 1–5 m (3-16 ft)
This asteroid was the second closest to Earth that year.
2016 (EF195)
Date: March 11, 2016
Size: 16–31 m (52-102 ft)
This one was only discovered four days after it passed by Earth.
2015 (SK7)
Date: September 22, 2015
Size: 3–14 m (9-46 ft)
This one was as big as a bus!
2013 Chelyabinsk meteorite
Date: February 15, 2013
Size: 20 m (approximately 65 ft)
This asteroid was comparable in size to a small building and disintegrated above the city of Chelyabinsk, damaging structures and leaving 1,491 people injured.
2011 (CQ1)
Date: February 4, 2011
Size: 1 m (3 ft)
This small asteroid was only spotted 14 hours before it passed by our planet.
2010 (WA)
Date: November 17, 2010
Size: 2–6 m (7-20 ft)
The speed at which this asteroid rotated fascinated scientists.
