Earth Gets Visitors: Six Asteroids Zoom By in a Day

Last Thursday was quite the day for space rocks! Six asteroids zoomed past Earth, with one coming pretty close. These asteroids, from tiny to building-sized, are common in our space neighborhood. NASA keeps an eye on them to ensure they don't cause any trouble. The day started with two asteroids, 2024 TP17 and 2015 HM1, visiting in the morning. They were both about the size of an airplane and passed by at safe distances. Then, at around noon, a larger asteroid named 2002 NV16 came by. This one was building-sized and considered potentially hazardous due to its size. But don't worry, it safely zoomed past without any issues.

In the late afternoon, the smallest asteroid of the day, 2024 UY, came by. It was just 16 feet long and passed by at a distance of 184, 000 miles, less than half the distance between Earth and the Sun. The evening saw two more visitors. Asteroids 2023 TG14 and 2021 EU2, both airplane-sized, passed by at distances of 1, 582, 000 miles and 3, 287, 000 miles, respectively. Even though some of these asteroids were close, they all missed Earth safely. NASA and other space agencies keep a close watch on these space rocks to make sure we stay safe.

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