NASA predicts massive 71m asteroid to fly past Earth on Tuesday

29 January 2024 , 17:06

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NASA scientists said the asteroid will not make impact on Earth (Image: Getty Images)

An asteroid spanning a significant 71 metres will pass over Earth on Tuesday (January 30), NASA’s asteroid tracker shows.

The asteroid has been named 2007 EG according to the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It is believed to be around 71 metres in diameter, and NASA calculations thankfully calculate that it won’t come anywhere near Earth as it flies past.

Asteroid 2007 EG will pass at a distance of over 4.8 million kilometres, well away from striking the Earth. But we aren’t always so lucky - Earth has already been hit by an asteroid this month.

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The asteroid was called 2024 BX1 and was the size of just two ducks. It harmlessly struck Germany earlier this month in January, without causing any major damage or casualties.

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NASA are still searching for 2007 FT3, an over 50-ton asteroid which it lost track of years ago (AFP via Getty Images)

Scientists have long been attempting to ascertain how to prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth in the event that a repeat of the dinosaur-age disaster were to come upon us. There has been progression in their attempts to create a protective measure for planetary defence - most notably kinetic deflection.

This method of defence alters the orbital path of a far-away asteroid, ensuring it isn’t heading for Earth as it looms close. It is demonstrated by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission, which successfully altered an asteroid’s orbital path. This means 2007 EG was never a major risk to Earth, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The chance of 2007 FT3 hitting Earth is around one in 11.5million (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The 2007 FT3 asteroid is one which could be on a collision course with Earth later this year and end life as we know it - but NASA aren’t entirely sure where it is. The 54-million ton, 1,030 foot space rock was spotted for just over a day 16 years ago before it became too faint and vanished. Officially dubbed a lost asteroid, it was observed long enough for scientists to work out its orbit and any potential points it could hit our planetary home.

NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies identified dozens of possible impacts- including one this autumn, on October 5, 2024. But don’t fear if you have already made plans for Halloween - the chance of 2007 FT3 hitting us is around one in 11.5million.

NASA scientists said the asteroid is big enough to end life on Earthy if it impacted (Getty Images)

A spokesman for NASA told the Standard: “There are no known asteroid impact threats to Earth at any time in the next century. Nasa and its partners diligently watch the skies to find, track, and categorise asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), including those that may come close to Earth.

"An important note here is planetary scientists define asteroid approaches that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit as close approaches. The larger an asteroid is, the easier it is for our planetary defence experts to find, meaning that their orbits around the sun are usually very well-known and understood for years or even decades.”

Alex Croft