1,100-foot asteroid approaches Earth tomorrow—Here's how close it'll get
23 May 2025

NASA has highlighted a gigantic asteroid, named '387746 (2003 MH4),' which is scheduled to fly by Earth this weekend.

The massive space rock, which is 335m wide and hurtling through space at a mind-boggling speed of 30,060km/h, is almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

It will make a close pass of our planet on May 24 at around 4:07pm IST.

2003 MH4 belongs to Apollo family of asteroids
Classification

Asteroid 2003 MH4 belongs to the Apollo family of asteroids, which are known for their Earth-crossing orbits.

Its size and closeness to our planet make it a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). PHAs are defined as objects larger than 140m, coming within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth.

Asteroid 2003 MH4 will come within 6.68 million kilometers of Earth.

According to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, this weekend's close encounter is "a warning, not a threat."

CNEOS monitors near-Earth objects
Monitoring efforts

Center for Near-Earth Object Studies tracks thousands of space rocks that could pose a risk to Earth.

The center employs a sophisticated network of telescopes and advanced computing systems, in collaboration with various space agencies, to keep a track of near-Earth objects.

If an asteroid like 2003 MH4 were to collide with Earth, the consequences would be catastrophic.

The energy released from such a collision would be equivalent to thousands of nuclear bombs.