The five asteroids are expected to come hurtling past Earth on Friday, October 18. NASA said the space rocks are all locked-in on “Earth close approach” trajectories. One of the asteroids will swing by at speeds of nearly 53,800mph (86,580kph).
What do we know about the five asteroids heading past Earth?
NASA has dubbed all five asteroids Near-Earth Objects or NEOs.
NEOs are all asteroids and comets flying around the inner rings of the solar system.
These rocky bodies orbit the Sun from distances that bring then close to Earth.
Occasionally, NEOs will cross paths with Earth’s orbit and strike the planet.
Asteroid 2019 TE2
The first NEO to close in on our planet is the Apollo-type Asteroid 2019 TE2.
Asteroid trackers first spotted the objects in the solar system on September 24, 2019.
NASA estimates the asteroid measures in the range of 72ft to 160ft (22m to 49m) across.
Asteroid TE2 is flying past Earth at speeds of around 10.06km per second or 22,503mph (36,216kph).
The asteroid will approach Earth tomorrow around 1.53am BST (12.53am UTC).
Asteroid 2019 TW6
The next asteroid to approach Earth is the smaller space rock 2019 TW6.
Based on NASA’s calculations, the asteroid measures between 46ft and 101.7ft (14m and 31m) across.
The space rock was first observed on October 8, 2019.
Asteroid TW6 will approach Earth around 7.25am BST (6.25am UTC).
When this happens, NASA said the space rock will reach speeds of around 5.59km per second or 12,504mph (20,124kph).
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Asteroid 2019 TP5
The third asteroid will arrive close to Earth around 8.38am BST (7.38am UTC).
NASA has dubbed this speedy space rock Asteroid 2019 TP5.
The US space agency estimates TP5 measures in the range of 88.6ft to 193.5ft (27m to 59m) across.
Asteroid TP5 will approach Earth at speeds of around 18.57km per second or 41,539mph (66,852kph).
Asteroid trackers first spotted the object on October 7, 2019.
Asteroid 2019 TA1
The fourth asteroid to arrive on Friday is Asteroid 2019 TA1.
NASA expects the asteroid to show up around 1.53pm BST (12.53pm UTC) tomorrow.
When the asteroid arrives close to Earth it will be travelling at speeds of around 6.40km per second or 14,316mph (23,040kph).
Asteroid TA1 measures somewhere in the range of 55.7ft to 193.5ft (17m to 59m) in diameter.
Asteroid trackers first observed TA1 on October 3, 2019.
Asteroid 2019 TM7
The fifth and final asteroid to approach Earth tomorrow is Asteroid 2019 TM7.
The rocky body was first spotted flying through the solar system on October 6, 2019.
NASA estimates TM7 measures between 147.6ft and 328ft (45m and 100m) across.
At its closest, the asteroid will arrive around 3.44pm BST (2.44pm UTC).
Asteroid TM7 is estimated to be flying at speeds of around 24.05km per second or 53,798mph (86,580kph).
Will any of the asteroids come close enough to hit Earth tomorrow?
Thankfully, NASA does not expect any of the five rocks to pose any threat to our home planet.
Asteroid TP5 will be the closest object to approach the planet on Friday.
NASA’s trackers estimate TP5 will close-in on Earth from a distance of 0.02102 astronomical units (au).
A single astronomical unit describes the distance from Earth to the Sun – about 93 million miles (149.6 million km).
Asteroid TP5 will slash this down to just 1.9 million miles (3.1 million km).
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