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An illustration of an asteroid in space.
NASA / JPL
A never-before-seen asteroid the size of a truck flew about 4,350 miles (7,000 km) above the Pacific Ocean on Monday, making it one of the closest steps to our planet on record.
Astronomers were unaware of the existence of asteroid 2020 JJ, as it was discovered using Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona just as it reached its closest point to us.
NASA maintains an online database of close-up approaches for asteroids and other “near-Earth objects” since 1900, and 2020 JJ appears as the sixth-closest approach ever recorded. It should be noted that the 10 closest approaches have come since 2004. This is not because asteroids started attacking us in the 21st century. Rather, it says something about how astronomers and their technology are improving to detect smaller and closer asteroids.
The 2020 JJ asteroid is estimated to be between 9 and 20 feet (2.7 to 6 meters) wide, making it a rather insignificant little piece of space junk. Consider that asteroid 1998 OR2, which made headlines recently for its closed pass (not as close as 2020 JJ), it is a mile wide.
If 2020 JJ had really hit Earth, most of it probably would have burned up in the atmosphere. In other words, this space rock was not any kind of existential threat, but it flew closer than many of the satellites that orbit our planet and could have hit one, creating a major disaster.
Nearby asteroid passes like this aren’t really something worth worrying about, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on what’s going on near our planet. You can see some interesting sights looking at the sky this week, like the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower and the last supermoon of the year.
