Nasa asteroid ALERT as three space rocks set to skim past Earth on Saturday afternoon
Earth's is getting a fly-by convoy from its celestial neighbours on the weekend
A TRIO of asteroids will skim past Earth in a matter of hours this Saturday.
The biggest measures 30 metres across – more than twice the length of a standard city bus.
Asteroids regularly pass close to Earth, so there's no need to panic.
In fact, Nasa has designated 10 "near-Earth objects" as making a "close approach" during the month of November alone.
"As they orbit the Sun, Near-Earth Objects can occasionally approach close to Earth," the US space agency explained.
It's also important to remember that a "close approach" might not be as close as you think.
The nearest asteroid will only come as close as 0.00255 astronomical units – around 209,000 miles away.
But what's exciting is the fact that three will pass near Earth on Saturday between 2pm and 7pm.
The first asteroid to makes its passing is called 2018 VS1, skirting Earth at 2.03pm on Saturday, November 10.
It's believed to measure up to 28 metres across, and will fly by at a distance of 865,419 miles – fairly close in astronomical terms.
This asteroid is the fastest, moving at 10.61 kilometres per second, relative to Earth's own speed.
The next fly-by will take place just 16 minutes later, at 2.19pm.
This involves the asteroid 2018 VR1, which is a little wider at 30 metres in diameter.
Nasa expects this asteroid to travel past Earth at a slightly slower velocity of 9.28 kilomtres per second, again relative to Earth.
But it's going to be much farther from Earth, at a distance of 3.15million miles.
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
Lastly, we're expecting the asteroid 2018 VX1 to make its closest approach to Earth at 6.26pm.
This asteroid will make the closest approach to Earth of any asteroid in November, at roughly 209,000 miles away.
It's the smallest of the three, measuring anywhere from 8 metres to 18 metres across.
2018 VX1 is also the slowest in the trio, moving at a speed of 6.06 kilometres per second relative to Earth.
Sadly it's very difficult to see asteroids with a telescope, because they're often very small and faint – with varying levels of reflectiveness.
The best method for amateurs is astrophotography, which involves taking several pictures of the night sky.
It's possible to then compare the images and then look out for small objects that have changed position.
Do you think you'll ever get to travel into space? Let us know in the comments!
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