120‑foot asteroid to make close Earth flyby tomorrow
What's the story
NASA has flagged a close encounter with an asteroid named 2025 MV89. The space rock, which is about 120 feet wide (roughly the size of a commercial airplane), will pass near Earth on July 4 at around 9:09pm IST. Although it's not on a collision course, such close encounters continue to intrigue the public and highlight the need for continuous monitoring of space objects.
Cosmic dynamics
Asteroid to pass by at a distance of 1.9M km
Asteroid 2025 MV89 is hurtling through space at a staggering speed of 31,204km/h. It will safely pass by our planet at a distance of some 1,960,000km. To put this in perspective, that's about five times the distance between Earth and the Moon. It may seem close in astronomical terms but is still considered safe for us on Earth.
Risk assessment
No, asteroid 2025 MV89 is not hazardous
According to NASA's criteria, an asteroid is deemed 'potentially hazardous' if it is over 150 meters in size and comes within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth. At 120 feet, asteroid 2025 MV89 does not fit that risk profile. Scientists have confirmed there's no danger of impact from this space rock during its flyby tomorrow.
Space surveillance
How NASA tracks near-Earth asteroids
NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) employs data from powerful observatories such as Pan-STARRS, Catalina Sky Survey, and NEOWISE to monitor and predict asteroid trajectories. Future missions like NEO Surveyor are expected to greatly improve early detection capabilities. This will help us stay ahead of any potential threats from space rocks like asteroid 2025 MV89, which is just another fascinating reminder of the bustling activity in our cosmic neighborhood.