Giant Asteroid To Fly Past Earth Today Is Bigger Than The Statue Of Liberty

Today is the first day of Fall, and with the changing of seasons, a massive asteroid is flying by the Earth. The asteroid is estimated to be about three times the size of the Statue of Liberty. It’s named 2021 NY1.

What most of us would consider close and what’s considered close on a cosmic scale are vastly different. “Close,” in this case, is about 970,000 miles from Earth. Any object that passes within 120 million miles of Earth is considered a Near-Earth Object. 120 million miles is roughly four times farther away than the Moon from Earth.

2021 NY1 poses no threat to the Earth, but all Near-Earth Objects are tracked. Over the eons, their orbits can change, so an object that is harmless now may pose serious threat years down the road.

Near-Earth Objects are also scrutinized because they can shed light on the beginnings of the universe, as some of them are just as they were when created millions of years ago. The asteroid is zipping through space at about 21,000 mph.