The 140-foot asteroid known as ‘2024 PQ5’ passed by Earth on August 20, 2024. The asteroid nearly the size of a small ship made its closest approach at a distance of 3.2 million miles from our planet.
This distance might seem large to you, but it is relatively small in astronomical terms. NASA kept an eye on this asteroid, as it was a potential threat if it changed its orbit and trajectory. But the asteroid flew by Earth without any impact.
The asteroid 2024 PQ5 travels at a breathtaking speed of 28,128 miles per hour. This asteroid belongs to the Apollo group. This group contains the asteroids that pass through Earth’s orbit. The 2024 PQ5 asteroid is classified as a near-earth object (NEO) because of its distance from the Earth.
NASA has been tracking near-earth objects very closely as they pose the threat of collision with Earth using an advanced network of telescopes such as Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) and radars. However, these flybys are always occurring and are not very rare. It is worth noting that five more asteroids are set to pass by Earth this month.
