A newly discovered asteroid the size of a bus is set to buzz Earth late on March 12, passing closer than the Moon as it glides quietly beneath Antarctica, posing no risk to our planet or its natural satellite.
The solar system asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 11:27 p.m. EDT March 12 (0327 GMT March 13), when it will pass 197,466 miles (317,791 kilometers) from the Southern Hemisphere.
At its closest point, NASA estimates that the 32–72-foot-wide (10–22 meters) asteroid – designated 2026 EG1 — will be traveling at a whopping 21,513 miles per hour (34,621 kilometers per hour) relative to Earth and will quickly pass us after making a distant flyby of the moon.
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Initial observations following its discovery on March 8 reveal that 2026 EG1 follows a 655-day elliptical orbit around the Sun, spanning from an innermost point in Earth’s orbit to well beyond the orbit of March.
2026 EG1’s next closest planetary approach will not occur until September 13, 2186, when it will pass approximately 7.5 million miles (12.1 million km) from the surface of Mars. The wandering asteroid is just one of more than 41,000 near-Earth asteroids currently tracked by NASA and its partners — a number likely to rise significantly thanks to the efforts of Vera Rubin Observatorywho have already discovered 2000 so far unknown solar system bodies with its original dataset.
Despite this staggering number, NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies have predicted that no major asteroid strike capable of causing serious damage will occur on our planet in the next 100 years
Regardless, NASA and their partners are working on ways to protect Earth in the event of a potential asteroid strike by holding false scenarios to improve worldwide messaging and response, while executing pioneering asteroid redirection mission.
