5 asteroids, including one the size of a sports stadium, expected to pass near Earth

The Earth is expecting the passage of an asteroid the size of a sports stadium this week, and it will be accompanied by four other near-misses from celestial bodies. The largest of these asteroids is expected to come within less than 2 million miles of Earth on Friday.

As per NASA, Asteroid 2008 OS7 has a diameter of approximately 890 feet and is predicted to make its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 2, when it is expected to miss by 1.77 million miles. Despite no risk of impact, its proximity has placed it on NASA’s Asteroid Watch website, which monitors the next five asteroid approaches.

This week will witness a series of other asteroids passing uncomfortably close to Earth. On Sunday, Asteroid 2024 AU4, approximately 260 feet in diameter, will miss Earth by about 3.92 million miles at its nearest point. Then on Tuesday, Asteroid 2007 EG, measuring about the size of an airplane, is expected to pass at an estimated distance of around 3.8 million miles.

The asteroid anticipated to have the closest encounter this week will be on Thursday when Asteroid 2024 BY, roughly the size of a house according to NASA, will come within 1.57 million miles. On the same day, another airplane-sized asteroid, 2003 BM4, with a diameter of about 120 feet, will pass by at a distance of 2.06 million miles.

For reference, the average distance from Earth to the moon is about 239,000 miles, while the Sun is approximately 93 million miles from Earth.

According to NASA, “The majority of near-Earth objects have orbits that don’t bring them very close to Earth, and therefore pose no risk of impact, but a small fraction of them – called potentially hazardous asteroids – require more attention.”

NASA defines “potentially hazardous objects” (PHO) as asteroids and comets larger than 500 feet that are predicted to come within 4.7 million miles of Earth.

In December, NASA initiated the OSIRIS-APEX mission to study Apophis, also known as the “God of Chaos” asteroid. This massive rock, measuring approximately 370 yards across, is expected to fly by the planet at an incredibly close distance of 20,000 miles in 2029. According to NASA, an asteroid coming that close to Earth “hasn’t happened since the dawn of recorded history.”

The Post reached out to NASA for comment but did not immediately receive a response.