'Hazardous' Giant Asteroids to Pass by Earth This Week

Two asteroids the size of the Empire State Building, classified as "potentially hazardous," will make close approaches to Earth this week, Newsweek reported Monday, citing NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The JPL said the asteroids, designated 2007 JX2 and 2020 XR, will pass near Earth on Tuesday and Wednesday. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies classified them as near-earth objects and potentially hazardous asteroids.

NEOs are defined as celestial objects that come within approximately 30 million miles of Earth. To qualify as a PHA, an object must measure at least 460 feet in diameter and approach within 4.6 million miles of Earth. Although these asteroids will not pose a direct threat, their proximity is close enough to warrant close monitoring.

The first asteroid (2007 JX2) is estimated to be between 984 and 2,198 feet in diameter. The second (2020 XR) measures between 951 and 2,133 feet in diameter. For comparison, the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet tall, and the Eiffel Tower and One World Trade Center measure 1,060 feet and 1,776 feet, respectively.

Asteroid 2007 JX2 is set to pass Earth on Tuesday at approximately 3.44 million miles, while 2020 XR will make its closest approach Wednesday, coming within 1.37 million miles of Earth.

For perspective, the Moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 238,900 miles, and Venus, Earth's nearest planetary neighbor, is about 24 million miles away at its closest.

Martin Barstow, a professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester in Great Britain said the criteria for PHA designation is an asteroid "that has an orbit intersecting Earth's orbit around the Sun by less than 0.05 astronomical units — just over 4.5 million miles," Barstow said in a previous statement to Newsweek.

He added, "It also has to have an absolute brightness of 22.0 or less," indicating a larger object capable of causing significant regional damage if it were to collide with Earth.

NASA wrote last month in a post on X that it monitors approximately 36,000 NEOs, of which about 2,350 are categorized as PHAs. Although the chances of a direct collision are exceedingly rare, such close encounters provide valuable opportunities for studying the objects and refining Earth's planetary defense strategies.

For updates on NEO activity, NASA regularly shares information on its official channels, including its Asteroid Watch account on X.

• US Unveils Fresh Export Curbs Aimed at China's Chips
• US Sets Tariffs for Solar Panels From SE Asia