'City killer' asteroid is one of four making close approach to Earth

Four huge asteroids, including one the size of a skyscraper, are making a close approach to planet Earth.

Asteroids striking the Earth can have a devastating impact, but luckily, experts are able to gauge whether those heading in our direction pose an imminent threat.

Experts have been tracking a quartet of particularly large asteroids, two of which were only discovered earlier this month, that are making a close approach to Earth today (Thursday 24 October).

They will all make their approach within 12 hours of one another. The “potentially hazardous” rocks vary in size between 100 feet (30 meters) across and up to 580 feet (177 m) across.

According to NASA's Asteroid Watch dashboard, the closest approach to Earth will be some 1,580,000 miles (2,550,000 km) away, made by the aeroplane-sized asteroid known as 2023 TG14.

The asteroid named 2002 NV16 is the size of a skyscraper and could wipe out an entire city. It will be the third of the four large asteroids to make its close call with Earth.

The space agency uses ground-based telescopes to survey the skies in search of moving objects against the static stars every week.

According to NASA, the asteroids are deemed “potentially hazardous” because they are coming within 30 million miles of Earth. Though they are not expected to strike our planet, they would have an enormous impact if they did.

The European Space Agency estimates that an asteroid measuring between 100 to 300 meters would compare similarly to the Hunga Tonga submarine volcano which caused the largest underwater explosion ever recorded when it erupted in December 2021.

Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings