Two rare asteroids will pass Earth at close range this week, just 42 hours apart.
Due to their size and trajectory, both space rocks are labeled as “potentially hazardous”. But that doesn’t mean they pose an immediate threat to Earth.
In fact, both will fly safely at thousands of miles per hour. According to the European Space Agency, there is a zero percent chance that either will collide with our planet.
None of these asteroids will be visible to the naked eye, but you may be able to spot them with a telescope or binoculars, Gianluca Massi, astrophysicist and founder of The Virtual Telescope Project, told Business Insider via email.
Or you can watch them via live streams hosted by The Virtual Telescope Project:
Use this link to watch Asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21 fly past Earth on Thursday, June 27, starting at 4:00 PM ET.
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And this link to watch the flyby of Asteroid 2024 MK on Saturday, June 29 at 5:00 PM ET.
Mountain-sized asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21
Asteroid (415029) 2011 UL21 is one of the largest asteroids to pass near Earth recently, Massey wrote in a press release.
With an estimated diameter of approximately 1.4 miles, this mountain-sized space rock is larger than 99 percent of all known near-Earth objects, according to the European Space Agency.
Asteroid 2011 UL21 falls into a class of space rocks known as “planet killers,” which are at least 1.2 miles wide. If one were to crash into Earth, it would cause continental-scale damage and potentially kick up enough dust to cause significant climate change for many years, LiveScience reported.
The Chicxulub asteroid, for example, which is credited with killing the dinosaurs, was about 6.5 miles in diameter and caused global warming for about 100,000 years after the impact.
Fortunately, 2011 UL21 won’t get close enough to cause concern on Thursday. It will sneak up to Earth at a safe distance of more than 4 million miles, which is 17 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, Massey wrote.
But this flyby is notable because 2011 UL21 will be among the top 10 largest asteroids to pass Earth at close range in the past 125 years, he added.
Newly discovered asteroid 2024 MK
Asteroid 2024 MK was first detected earlier this month, just 13 days before it passed Earth at a remarkably close distance, according to the European Space Agency.
It is much smaller than 2011 UL21, with an estimated diameter between 390 and 885 feet. This is roughly the length of one to 2.5 football fields.
But what this asteroid lacks in size it makes up for in brightness. It will approach within 184,000 miles of Earth, which is about 77% of the average distance between Earth and the Moon, Massey wrote.
Its proximity would make it one of the brightest objects of its kind seen in recent history, he added.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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