Asteroid (2024 ON) to fly by Earth this September; no threat forecast
On Tuesday, 17th September, an object that could be up to half a kilometre in diameter will pass Earth, a short distance away in terms of cosmic measurements. Astronomers have named it (2024 ON).
The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth on 17th September at 11:19 GMT. Its speed relative to our planet is 8.88 km/s, roughly 20,000 mph.
Close encounter with the asteroid (2024 ON)
The asteroid will pass us at a distance of 0.00668 astronomical units, about 621,000 miles. This is two and a half times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Therefore, there is no threat from this celestial body.
Impressive size of the object
The diameter of the asteroid is estimated to be between 210 and 470 metres. Every day, asteroids of various sizes pass Earth, some even several times a day. However, these are mostly much smaller objects, with diameters of several, a dozen, or a few dozen metres. In the case of the asteroid (2024 ON), we are dealing with an object that could be up to half a kilometre in diameter.
According to information from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), no other known large object will come close to us in the next year. On 12th October, the asteroid 363027 (1998 ST27), with a diameter of half a kilometre, will fly by us, but at a distance of 2.2 million miles.
Future approaches of the asteroid (2024 ON)
Calculations indicate that the next close encounters with the asteroid (2024 ON) will occur in 2035, 2052, 2063, 2072, 2109, 2111, and 2120. However, these distances will be greater than this year's. The asteroid orbits the Sun every 3.7 years and is classified as a near-Earth object (NEO) and a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA). It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids, which intersect the orbits of Earth, Venus, and even Mercury.
