Five asteroids narrowly miss Earth today, including one with the potential to cause widespread destruction

Today, not one, but five asteroids are hurtling past Earth, all at their closest approach.

The largest one was discovered just a few weeks ago. Potentially Dangerous 2024 BR4. Measuring between 140 and 300 meters in length, it is a sizable chunk of space rock. At its highest estimate, it would be about the size of an oil tanker, six Olympic-sized swimming pools, or as tall as New York City's Chrysler Building.

And just like the box of chocolates you might stuff your cheeks with, we have a few more surprises in store for you on the day. Dr. Darren Baskillan astronomer at the University of Sussex, said:

“On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, a total of five asteroids will pass Earth, all within 5 million kilometers.”

It may seem like a long way, but from an astronomical perspective, it's just a stone's throw away.

“The closest of these five is asteroid 2024 CU1, which is scheduled to pass about 52 percent further away than the Moon and is about 20 meters in diameter.”

In 2024, CU1 will be closest at 1:31 PM GMT (+/- 1 minute). However, it is only 20 meters in diameter, much smaller than the much talked about “city killer” called 2024 BR4.

How close will asteroid 2024 BR4 get?

Asteroid 2024 BR4, one of a group of asteroids that will fly past Earth today, will make its closest approach at a distance of 4.6 million km (2.86 million miles). In terms of AU, this is approximately 0.03 AU, well within the criteria for designation as a potentially hazardous object (see Meaning of a “Potentially Hazardous” Asteroid below).

(To convert kilometers per mile to AU, divide the distance in kilometers per mile by the distance in 1 AU of the same unit.)

Closest approach is expected to occur at 11:03 GMT today (±1 minute).

Will asteroid 2024 BR4 collide with Earth?

The Valentine's Day asteroid is hurtling through space at about 44,880 kilometers per hour (27,887 miles per hour), only slightly faster than the average speed recorded by Galileo during his six-year mission to Jupiter, but we… No need to worry. About influencing our heavenly oasis.

It passes us safely and poses no immediate threat to Earth.

“Asteroid 2024 BR4 will pass close to Earth 12 times further away than the Moon,” Baskill explains.

What do we know about Asteroid 2024 BR4?

Unfortunately, there are very few. In general, the larger the object, the brighter it is (the brighter the object, the lower the magnitude). NASA assigned asteroid 2024 BR4 a magnitude of 21.457.. It's not very bright.

However, we also need to know the object's albedo (surface reflectance), which is currently unknown. Current best estimates place the asteroid's size between 140 and 300 meters in diameter. But we know its trajectory with relative certainty. And today's visit will bring us the closest in 120 years to realizing BR4 in 2024.