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Massive Asteroid Expected to Skim Past Earth Monday Night

Moving at about 22,500 miles per hour, the asteroid is expected to brush past Earth at approximately 6:53 p.m. ET on Monday.

A massive, 111-foot asteroid is expected to travel uncomfortably close to Earth Monday night, according to predictions from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Moving at about 22,500 miles per hour, the asteroid will skim past Earth at approximately 6:53 p.m. ET on Monday. At that time, the asteroid will be about 0.01006 astronomical units, or roughly 935,000 miles, from Earth’s center. Asteroids are space rocks that orbit the sun in the asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, according to Space.com. Believed to be leftover remnants from the formation of the solar system, these “rocks” sometimes leave the belt, and can pose a threat to Earth. Known officially as TA7, this asteroid will be making its closest approach to Earth in over a century. The hurtling rock, however, will likely lose most of its mass when it enters Earth’s atmosphere, exploding in space due to its small size.