NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has reported that two asteroids—2020 GE and 2024 RO11—are set to pass by Earth on September 24. Despite their close proximity, NASA reassures that both will pass at safe distances.
Asteroid 2020 GE, the smaller of the two, measures around 26 feet in diameter, about the size of a bus, and will pass within 410,000 miles of Earth. The recently discovered asteroid 2024 RO11 is much larger, at 120 feet in diameter, nearly the size of an airplane, and will pass at a distance of 4,580,000 miles.
While neither asteroid poses any threat, skywatchers equipped with telescopes may be able to observe them on the 24th. Another asteroid, 2024 RK7, measuring 100 feet in diameter, will follow on September 25.
Asteroids, rocky objects composed of metals and minerals, orbit the Sun like planets, with most found in the asteroid belt. Although some pass near Earth, they rarely pose a threat. If they enter Earth’s atmosphere, they become meteoroids, often burning up and creating bright streaks in the sky known as meteors.
