Asteroid larger than Empire State passes Earth at end of Donald Trump presidency

A huge steroid bigger than the Empire State Building is about to fly safely beyond Earth in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The space rock – dubbed 65717 (1993 BX3) – is expected to make its closest approach to our planet at 3:49 a.m. ET on January 17 – three days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration – according to the NASA Center for. Near Earth Studies (CNEOS).

At that time, the asteroid will be about 4.4 million kilometers from our planet, which is roughly 18 times the average distance between Earth and the Moon, according to CNEOS data.

Based on its observable magnitude, the space rock, which was first spotted in 1992, is estimated to be up to 1,345 feet in diameter.

If this estimate is correct, the asteroid would be slightly larger than the Empire State Building in New York City, which stands about 1,250 feet high.

According to CNEOS, space rock will move at more than 8,000 miles per hour – about four times faster than a rifle bullet.

1993 BX3 is classified as a Near Earth Object, or NEO. This term refers to asteroids and comets orbiting the sun that can pass within 30 million miles of Earth’s own orbit.

There are currently around 25,000 known near-Earth objects, none of which pose a significant risk of striking Earth in the next century or so, according to NASA. Asteroids make up the vast majority of that figure, although there are a small handful of comets.

Astronomers claim to have identified more than 95% of near-Earth objects measuring more than one kilometer (0.62 miles) in diameter that are believed to exist.

“By continually searching for asteroids, we expect to eventually find the majority of asteroids within a hundred meters over time, as each passes through our planet many years or decades before a possible potential impact,” said CNEOS Director Paul Chodas. Newsweek.

Earlier this month, another huge asteroid passed through Earth safely. This space rock, named 2015 NU13, is estimated to measure up to 2,230 feet, nearly twice the size of the Empire State.

2015 NU13 approached within 3.5 million miles of Earth at 4:16 a.m. ET on Jan. 9, according to CNEOS data, at that time it was moving at over 33,700 miles per hour.

The asteroid is among the 10 largest space rocks expected to fly over our planet over the next year.