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Giant asteroid as big as the Leaning Tower of Pisa will approach Earth in a few days
2025-07-24 18:12:38 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
An asteroid called 2025 OW, about the size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (about 64 meters), is expected to pass near Earth on July 28, NASA announces.
The asteroid, traveling at a speed of about 75,000 km/h, will pass at a distance of 633,000 kilometers from our planet, just beyond the orbit of the Moon (which is 384,000 km from Earth). Although it poses no threat, its proximity has put it on the list of "near-Earth objects."
NASA considers 2025 OW to be a small to medium-sized asteroid, and in the event of an atmospheric entry, it would probably explode in the air from friction and pressure, causing minor structural damage or breaking windows, if it fell over a populated area.
This is one of five asteroids that will approach Earth during the last week of July. Two of them are expected to pass more than 1.6 million km away on July 25, while another smaller one will pass by on July 27.
In comparison, asteroid 2024 MK (about 150 meters long) passed closest to Earth last July, at a distance of just 296,000 kilometers. Meanwhile, asteroid 99942 Apophis, measuring 335 meters, will pass dangerously close to Earth on April 13, 2029, at just 32,000 kilometers away, closer than some satellites.
NASA uses telescopes and radar to accurately measure the orbits and sizes of asteroids. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is responsible for accurate predictions of these trajectories. But despite technological advances, the risks have not been completely eliminated. A recent study warns of Earth's "blind side," the space behind the Sun where asteroids can hide from observation. Some of them, like 2020 SB and 2020 CL1, follow the orbit of Venus and are difficult to detect, but potentially devastating if they collide with Earth.
These asteroids reach sizes up to 400 meters and can destroy entire cities, cause tsunamis and massive fires in the event of an impact.
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