NASA Tracking Car-Sized Asteroid Approaching Earth Tomorrow
Newsweek • • science
Key Points:
- NASA is tracking several asteroids near Earth this week, including a 15-foot-wide asteroid "2026 FM3" passing at 148,000 miles on March 25 at 12,168 mph.
- Other asteroids approaching include the 68-foot "2026 FX3" today, the 49-foot "2026 FT2," and larger ones like bus-sized "2026 FQ2" and plane-sized "2026 FG3" at over a million miles away.
- Small asteroids under 30 feet hit Earth roughly every ten years, usually causing minor effects like fireballs or sonic booms without significant damage.
- Larger asteroids over 160 feet pose greater risks but impact Earth about once every 1,000 years; notably, asteroid "2024 YR4" has a low chance of Earth impact in 2032, with recent data suggesting a possible lunar collision instead.
- Extremely large asteroids over 3,000 feet, which can cause global devastation, strike approximately every 700,000 years, while those over 6 miles wide, capable of mass extinctions, impact roughly every 100 million years.
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