NASA has issued a warning about an asteroid expected to pass close to Earth on Christmas Eve, with the object measuring between 29-70 meters in diameter and traveling at 14,743mph. According to NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard, asteroid 2024 XN1 will skim past Earth at a distance of approximately 4.48 million miles from our planet.
Despite its size, experts say there is no risk of collision with this asteroid due to its vast distance from Earth. The asteroid will be visible from an amateur telescope only under ideal viewing conditions and is not included on the ‘Risk List’ of objects with a non-zero probability of colliding with the planet.
The predicted path of 2024 XN1 takes it closer to our planet than the Moon in some instances, but at its closest point, the asteroid will still be over 7 million miles away. The European Space Agency estimates that the asteroid’s impact would have an energy equivalent to 12 million tonnes of TNT.
Asteroid 2024 XN1 is not expected to pose a threat due to its distance and size. However, other space rocks are forecasted to make close passes of Earth during the holiday season, including a small rock on December 23 that will likely burn up in the atmosphere without posing any danger, and an even larger asteroid, 2021 BA2, which may reach distances as close as 1.71 million miles from our planet.
As Earth continues to be passed by large space rocks, NASA and other space agencies remain vigilant to monitor these objects and provide early warnings of potential threats.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14213885/Christmas-Eve-asteroid-skim-Earth.html