Asteroid to Zip Past Earth 5x Closer than We are to the Moon

A 170-foot tall asteroid is predicted to pass by Earth at a distance closer than the moon at a speed of over 18,000 mph on September 1.

Spacereference.org compares this space rock to the size of the U.S. Capitol building.

This asteroid is named 2011 ES4. It orbits the sun every 416 days.

NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) says this asteroid will zip by Earth at only around 44,000 miles away.

That’s a little too close for comfort --- the moon is located 238,900 miles away from Earth. So this rock -- at its closest point --- will be about 5x closer to us than we are to the moon. Yikes.

If you recall, in June, three asteroids zoomed by Earth but they were all more than 1.7 million miles from Earth. The flyby in September will be MUCH MUCH closer.

But it WILL be closer in years to come. On September 2, 2051, it may get as close as just 350 miles from Earth.