Three giant asteroids, one of which has been labelled ‘potentially hazardous’ are set to come ‘close’ to Earth on Christmas Day, with the trio of space rocks ‘disturbed quite easily’
Three giant asteroids speeding towards Earth will come “close” to the planet on Christmas Day, in a solar sighting for the festive season.
One asteroid named 2022 YL1 is said to be the width of a Boeing 777’s wingspan, while another, YA14, is just shy of being the length of a football field.
A third asteroid, the 2022 TE14, is roughly measured as the same size as a 50-storey building, and all three are set to come close to Earth in distances relative to the universe.
These three asteroids which can be “disturbed quite easily” according to one expert, are set for a close pass by with Earth tomorrow.
2022 YL1 is said to measure between 124 and 278 feet, while 2013 YA14 is measuring between 167 and 360 feet, but the biggest of them all is 2022 TE14, measuring in anywhere between 312 and 689 feet in diameter.
Jay Tate, the UK’s Spaceguard Centre observatory director, said: “Asteroids are ‘bits of a planet that didn’t happen’ that orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt.
“However, as they are relatively small, asteroids can be disturbed quite easily, so they can develop orbits that cross those of planets.”
These three asteroids set for a close contact with Earth are said to be from the asteroid belt surrounding the sun.
Each of the three asteroids are set for a close pass of Earth, which in universal terms is not a measurement to worry about, with millions of miles between Earth and the asteroid.
2022 YL1 for instance will pass by at around 1.82million miles from Earth, although for the universal scale, that is deemed relatively close to Earth.
Many of the asteroids passing by Earth are deemed as close encounters, near-Earth objects that are often dependant on how large they are.