I thought humanity would end when we fired a bunch of nukes at one another for a truly stupid, asinine reason. Instead, it seems we'll be going out the same way the dinosaurs did! With a fiercely large asteroid barreling into the planet! ...Okay, okay. I'll admit it, the situation may not be that dire. Hopefully.
Fittingly, right around International Asteroid Day (June 30), we'll be treated to two asteroids! Per Space Reference, the evil-sounding "415029 (2011 UL21)" asteroid will be as close to the Earth as any asteroid has been this year. For reference, here are some fun key facts! The asteroid is comparable in size to Mount Everest. It's an Apollo-class asteroid. And it'll pass within 6,641,274 km of the planet... today (June 27), actually!
But that's not the star of the show. No, no. We still have the "2024 MK" asteroid to worry about. On June 29, 2024, MK is slated to come closer to the Earth than the moon. Which, as you can guess, is really, really close. Reportedly, it's moving at 5.82 miles (which is roughly 27 times the speed of sound).
The European Space Agency (ESA) says the sudden discovery of 2024 MK "highlights the ongoing need to improve our ability to detect and monitor potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs)." (2024 MK was discovered only about a week ago.)
An Asteroid That Could Level The Planet Will Come As Close As Possible To Earth
The asteroid reported to have slain the dinosaurs was about 6.2 miles wide. The ESA claims that 2024 MK is about 1.4 miles across. Which is still, you know, devastating if it actually hits. There's good news, however! According to an in-depth survey, the Earth isn't at any significant collision-based risk for at least the next 1,000 years. Still, though, I don't think anyone will be fully content with that until 2024 MK sails right past us!
If you're morbidly curious about either asteroid, you can watch a livestream of them here through the "Virtual Telescope Project" YouTube channel! Me, I respectfully think I'll pass. I never liked space too much. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that I accidentally watched Alien as a child. Nope, not at all.
