Several asteroids are set to come relatively close to Earth in the coming days. The eldest of the five NASA Asteroid Clockasteroid (2024 XN1), is about 120 feet wide, about the size of an airplane.
The asteroid (2024 XN1) is set to make its closest approach to Earth on December 24 at approximately 02.57 TDB (Barycentric Dynamical Time—a relative coordinate time scale designed specifically for astronomical applications).
At its nominal distance, the asteroid would pass within 7,217,247 km (4,480,000 mi) of Earth, with a minimum possible distance of 7,182,369 km and a maximum of 7,252,123 km.
The asteroid, traveling at 6.59 kilometers per second (about 23,724 kilometers per hour), has NASA on alert until at least Christmas Eve.
However, before that, other smaller asteroids will also approach. On December 19 (US time) the 49-foot asteroid (2024 YA) will pass by 869,000 miles. The asteroid (2020 XY4), which measures 44 feet, will pass by 3,030,000 miles on December 20. Two asteroids will pass by on December 21: the 50-foot (2024 XQ4) at 656,000 miles and the 60-foot (2024) X at 205,000 miles. .
NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard tracks objects that come within 4.6 million miles of Earth. Objects larger than 150 meters within this distance are considered potentially dangerous. The dashboard provides information about asteroid size, distance, and date of closest approach.
None of the currently tracked asteroids pose a threat to Earth. “Objects within 4.6 million miles and larger than 150 meters are classified as potentially hazardous, although not all tracked objects currently pose a threat to our planet.” For reference, the average distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 239,000 miles.