1,900-Foot Potentially Hazardous Asteroid To Make Close Earth Approach In May
KEY POINTS
A giant asteroid taller than the Petronas Towers is set to zip past Earth on May 4
PHA 2021 AF8 is about 1,900 feet and is one-and-a-half times taller than the Empire State Building in New York
2021 AF8 has not been included in the ESA Risk List, so it should not be a cause for concern
A potentially hazardous asteroid taller than the Petronas Towers is making its way toward Earth. According to NASA, the 1,900-foot asteroid will be making its close approach in May.
At about 8:14 a.m. EDT on May 4, Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) 2021 AF8 will be making its close approach to the planet at a speed of about 20,000 miles per hour (32,400 km/h). NASA s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is keeping a close eye on the space object as it is expected to have a diameter reaching almost 2,000 feet.