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Are these good or bad things that come in threes? We'll know soon enough: according to data from NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, at least three asteroids are about to get closer to Earth this weekend, one of which has an estimated diameter between 14 and 30 meters (100 feet) wide – up to the size of a London bus.
The first of the series – 2018 VA2 – must be made final Friday, the others are not far behind. It is estimated between 32 and 75 feet wide, has an approaching distance of about 446,000 miles and travels at a speed of 0.6 kilometers per second compared to the Earth. The 2018 VR1 is the big dad of the pack, but is credited with the furthest approach distance, about 3.1 million miles. Fortunately, none of the other asteroids pose a threat of impact because of their trajectory – but NASA still ranks their approaches in the "near" category. (Better to prevent than smashed.)
For those who observe the sky, unless you have a satellite at hand, do not look for asteroids, they are just too small and too far away. That said, the CNEOS close approach map currently contains 17 entries that will run until January 4, 2019, so perhaps there may be other opportunities to unveil goals and objectives in the near future .
If the 2018 VR flew closer to Earth, it would really be something that was worth falling asleep. The Chelyabinsk incident in 2013 is an often cited event. A 65.5-foot-wide asteroid exploded over Russia and its shockwaves caused injuries to more than 1,000 people. Who knows what kind of damage an asteroid 100 feet wide would cause … Fortunately, we do not have to know this weekend.
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