Nasa Tracks Plane-Sized Asteroid Speeding Toward Earth At 47,000 Mph
An Airplane-Sized Asteroid Will Pass by Earth on July 28 — NASA States It’s a Routine Event
NASA has announced that asteroid 2025 OW, which measures approximately 220 feet in length, comparable to the size of an airplane, will safely pass by Earth on Monday, July 28. Although media headlines may incite worry, scientists clarify that this is a “routine” event.
Traveling at a speed of 46,908 miles per hour, the asteroid will approach within 390,000 miles of Earth—approximately 1.6 times the distance to the Moon. NASA reassures that there is no danger, and this occurrence is well within the expected parameters of cosmic activity.
Ian O’Neill from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated, “This is very routine. If there was a threat, you’d hear from us.” NASA consistently monitors space debris and would provide alerts via its planetary defense blog if any danger were detected.
Davide Farnocchia, from NASA’s Near-Earth Object Studies division, remarked that such close encounters are frequent. “It’s just part of the fabric of the solar system,” he explained, noting that his team tracks numerous near-Earth objects on a weekly basis.
The orbit of 2025 OW is well-documented, and NASA has an accurate prediction of its trajectory for at least the next century. Unfortunately, due to its distance and size, it will not be observable with binoculars or amateur telescopes.
Nevertheless, a more significant event is approaching: asteroid Apophis is set to pass within just 20,000 miles of Earth in April 2029—closer than some satellites. Initially thought to be a potential threat, Apophis is now confirmed to be safe for at least the next hundred years.
Near-Earth objects are defined as asteroids or comets that come within 120 million miles of the Sun. While most of these objects are small, NASA monitors them to improve their orbital predictions over time.