An asteroid with a diameter of around 271 meters, similar to the size of the Maracanã stadium, is approaching Earth. The space rock, called 2008 OS7, was classified by NASA as “potentially hazardous.”
The asteroid will pass the Earth at a distance of 2.8 million kilometers, which is equivalent to about seven times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The passage is scheduled for this Friday, February 2nd, at 11:41 am local time from Brasilia.
Collision risk
Despite the size and classification, NASA guarantees that there is no risk of collision with Earth. Dr. Minjae Kim, researcher at the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, reinforces this information: “We don’t need to worry too much about this, as this asteroid will not enter Earth’s atmosphere, although it will still approach it.”
NASA defines “potentially hazardous” asteroids as those larger than 140 meters in diameter that come within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
Visibility and upcoming events
Most asteroids are too small to be detected with current technologies and research, so they are difficult to see with the naked eye. The only asteroids visible so far are Pallas and Vesta, with diameters of around 500 km.
The next “potentially hazardous” asteroid to approach Earth will be 99942 Apophis, on April 14, 2029.
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