An asteroid the size of the Giza Pyramid will pass by Earth today

to’asteroid The 120-meter (394-foot) object, scientifically called 2024 JZ, will pass by the planet at an astonishing speed of 56,000 mph (90,123), or 65 times faster than a bullet. But there’s no need to head to a doomsday bunker just yet, because this asteroid will safely pass Earth at a distance of 2.6 million miles (4.2 million kilometers).

A near-Earth asteroid

While this may seem far away, the asteroid is still classified as an “asteroid.”Near-Earth object“(NEO) from NASA.

doctor Edward BloomerThe chief astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory told MailOnline: “Today’s disappearance is not a concern at all, it’s not the kind of thing we should worry about“.

the NASA He writes: “Near-Earth objects are comets and asteroids that have been pushed by the gravity of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter Earth’s vicinity. Comets consist mainly of water ice with embedded dust particles, and originally formed in the cold outer planetary system, while most rocky asteroids formed in the hotter inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.“.

What is a near-Earth object?

And Near Earth objects It is defined as any object located within 1.3 astronomical units (AU) (120.8 million miles) of the Sun, and thus within 0.3 AU (27.8 million miles) of Earth’s orbit.

the Asteroids They are defined.”Potentially dangerous“If it is 0.05 astronomical units (4.65 million miles) from Earth and has a diameter of more than 140 meters (459 feet).”

Although 2024 JZ will be at a perfectly safe distance of only 0.028 AU from Earth, this is considered relatively close in astronomical terms.

Close call

A closer collision will also occur this evening with the name of a small asteroid 2024 JT3 It will pass only 12,000 miles (19,300 km) from Earth.

But Juan Luis Canofrom the European Space Agency’s Planetary Defense Office, reassured MailOnline that Earth “definitely” security.

Kano states that “There’s no chance of hitting the ground“.

He adds: “However, a 5- to 10-meter-long object typically disintegrates in the atmosphere once a few small meteorites are ejected onto Earth.”

Near-Earth objects are monitored by a network of professional astronomers and volunteers who detect objects passing through the solar system.