With “468910 (2014 KQ76)” – in addition to 15 other asteroids – 1 potentially dangerous asteroid reaches the closest point in its orbit today. An overview of the currently largest asteroids near Earth and potential dangers.
Which asteroids are near Earth today?
Image: Adobe Stock / Matthieu
NASA is currently aware of over 1.1 million asteroids. Thousands more of these usually irregularly shaped rock bodies are discovered every month. Special attention is paid to the so-called near-Earth asteroids, which do not move around the sun like most asteroids in the asteroid belt, but come close to Earth’s orbit and can therefore also be dangerous for the blue planet. This article gives you an overview of all the near-Earth asteroids that are passing the closest point in their orbit today.
On Monday, April 18, 2022, a total of 16 asteroids will reach their closest station during the day, including 1 potentially more dangerous asteroid.
The largest near-Earth asteroids today
“450143 (1999 ED5)” With an estimated diameter of 309 to 692 meters, it is currently the largest asteroid near Earth. “450143 (1999 ED5)” makes its closest approach to Earth at 04:39 today. The second largest near-Earth asteroid is “(2016 TS92)” and has an estimated diameter of 245 to 547 meters. “(2019 SV8)” today ranks 3rd among the largest near-Earth asteroids (202 m – 451 m).
This asteroid is coming particularly close to Earth today
The closest thing to Earth today is the asteroid “(2022 FY4)”. It approaches our planet at 07:53 at a distance of up to 1.5 million km.
The asteroid that has come closest to us so far without impacting Earth was “(2020 QG)”. On August 16, 2020, it flew past Earth at a speed of around 44,000 km/h, just 3,000 km away. Coming from the direction of the sun, experts didn’t see it coming: it was only spotted 6 hours after its flyby. It would probably not have caused much damage on Earth even if it had collided. Because of its small size, only 3 to 6 m in diameter, it is assumed that it would have burned up in the atmosphere if it had come closer.
Potentially dangerous asteroids near Earth today
Potentially dangerous asteroids are those asteroids that come closer than 0.05 AU (approx. 7.5 million km) and have an absolute brightness of 22 mag or less. They are therefore considered large enough (at least around 140 m in diameter) to cause considerable damage in the event of an impact. About 20 percent of near-Earth asteroids are classified as potentially dangerous.
Today there is 1 potentially dangerous asteroid near Earth: “468910 (2014 KQ76)”.
468910 (2014 KQ76)
First observation: 07/18/2002
Last observation: 05/20/2021
Absolute magnitude: 21.65 mag (faint)
Estimated diameter: 124 m to 278 m
Distance: 14.7 million km
Speed: 50719.25 km/h (14.09 km/s)
Time of the shortest distance to earth: on 04/18/2022 at 21:59
14 Earth orbit cruisers near Earth
Asteroids that cross the orbit of the earth are also called orbit cruisers. Near-Earth type asteroids Apollo cross Earth’s orbit from outside, near-Earth type asteroids Aten cross the earth’s orbit from within. Today, a total of 14 Earth orbit cruisers are approaching our planet.
Apollo asteroids near Earth today: “450143 (1999 ED5)”, “468910 (2014 KQ76)”, “(2015 GZ5)”, “(2016 TS92)”, “(2016 WU2)”, “(2018 KS)”, “(2019 SV8)”, “(2020 BD11)”, “(2020 TQ6)”, “(2021 JV5)”, “(2022 FG2)”, “(2022 GJ4)”
near-Earth Aten asteroids today: “(2008 EP)”, “(2021 US2)”
Amor and Atira type asteroids do not cross Earth’s orbit. While the hard-to-discover Atira-Asteroids move completely within Earth’s orbit, approaching type asteroids cupid the earth’s orbit from the outside.
- near-Earth Amor asteroids today: “(2016 EE158)”, “(2017 SL19)”
All near-Earth asteroids today at a glance
| Surname | distance | size | speed | Type | Appointment close to earth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2022 FY4) | 1.5 million km | 14 – 32 m | 55986km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 07:53 |
| (2020 TQ6) | 5.1 million km | 32 – 71 m | 55376km/h | Apollo | April 18, 2022 at 5:30 a.m |
| (2022 FG2) | 11.3 million km | 51 – 113 m | 36407km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 02:38 am |
| 468910 (2014 KQ76) | 14.7 million km | 124 – 278 m | 50719km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 9:59 p.m |
| (2021 JV5) | 17.9 million km | 25 – 57 m | 21615km/h | Apollo | April 18, 2022 at 5:45 am |
| (2021 US2) | 26 million km | 48 – 108 m | 74895km/h | Aten | 4/18/2022 at 5:47 am |
| (2015 GZ5) | 27.5 million km | 23 – 52 m | 67972km/h | Apollo | April 18, 2022 at 9:06 p.m |
| (2018 KS) | 31.7 million km | 7 – 16 m | 19761km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 5:37 p.m |
| (2020 BD11) | 37.9 million km | 37 – 82 m | 30498km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 00:47 |
| (2016 WU2) | 39.2 million km | 9 – 20 m | 48216km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 12:07 p.m |
| (2019 SV8) | 40.7 million km | 202 – 451 m | 61406km/h | Apollo | 04/18/2022 at 12:08 p.m |
| (2017 SL19) | 49.2 million km | 80 – 179 m | 9720km/h | cupid | 04/18/2022 at 04:09 am |
| (2008 EP) | 51.7 million km | 38 – 86 m | 52015km/h | Aten | 04/18/2022 at 9:23 p.m |
| (2016 EE158) | 60.3 million km | 44 – 99 m | 44734km/h | cupid | 04/18/2022 at 10:35 p.m |
| (2016 TS92) | 67 million km | 245 – 547 m | 94960km/h | Apollo | April 18, 2022 at 3:40 p.m |
| 450143 (1999 ED5) | 73.9 million km | 309 – 692 m | 33945km/h | Apollo | 4/18/2022 at 4:39 am |
+++ Editorial note: This text was created automatically based on current data from NASA. If you have any comments or questions, please contact [email protected]. +++
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