A large asteroid the size of a plane, known as 2025 OW, is set to pass by Earth next week, but NASA experts are assuring the public that this event is more routine than remarkable. Measuring around 210 feet in length, the asteroid is expected to fly past Earth on July 28 at a distance of approximately 393,000 miles, which is about 1.6 times the average distance to the Moon. Despite its impressive speed of 46,908 miles per hour, NASA scientists stress that this encounter is normal and not a cause for alarm.
According to Ian J. O’Neill, a media relations specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), “This is very routine. If there was a threat, you would hear from us. We would always put out alerts on our planetary defense blog.” Davide Farnocchia, an asteroid expert at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), explains that close approaches by space rocks are common occurrences in our solar system and are nothing out of the ordinary.
While 2025 OW is being closely monitored by NASA scientists due to its size, its well-known orbit indicates that it poses no danger. Farnocchia mentions that they track several asteroids passing by Earth each week, with five being monitored for next week alone. He highlights a more exciting event on the horizon: the 2029 approach of asteroid Apophis, which will come within 38,000 kilometers of Earth in April 2029 and be visible to the naked eye.
Both Farnocchia and O’Neill stress that while Earth encounters about 100 tons of space material daily, most of it is harmless dust. Larger impacts that could potentially pose a risk are extremely rare. Farnocchia emphasizes that for an asteroid like 2025 OW, while close approaches may occur yearly, an actual Earth impact would only happen roughly every 10,000 years.
NASA’s planetary defense programs continue to monitor near-Earth objects, ensuring transparency about any possible risks while reassuring the public that most asteroid events are more sensational than alarming.
