A massive asteroid the size of a Manhattan skyscraper is on course to pass the Earth on Thursday, according to NASA’s asteroid tracker.
The asteroid, which NASA categorizes under “bridge-size,” has been named 2020 DB5. Though it shares its name with a famed Aston Martin Bond car, this celestial object is significantly bigger than any motor vehicle. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab estimates it to be around 1600 feet long, making it larger than New York City’s famed One Vanderbilt and 432 Park Avenue skyscrapers. It would take 100 giraffes, which average a height of 16 feet tall, stacked on top of each other to reach the size of this behemoth.
Beautiful Day In Central Park NYC 🇺🇸
Pictured Left – Right
1) 432 Park Avenue
2) One Vanderbilt
3) 53 W53
4) 111 W57 Street (Steinway Tower)
5) One57
6) JW Marriott Essex House
7) Central Park Tower
8) 220 Central Park SouthThe best line up in the world 🌍 pic.twitter.com/a4dCxh4NtM
— Walks&WallStreet (@WalksWallstreet) June 4, 2023
2020 DB5 is the largest near-Earth asteroid currently being tracked by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, which keeps tabs on any asteroids or comets that “make relatively close approaches to Earth.” The tracker considers any object that passes within 4.6 million miles of the planet, the lab says. Any object larger than 150 meters that enters this area “is termed a potentially hazardous object.”
2020 DB5 will make its closest approach at approximately 2,680,000 miles from Earth. Though that distance is close in relative terms, it is still significantly further from the Earth than the moon, which on average is about 239,000 miles away. (RELATED: NASA Issues Warning Over Incoming Asteroid)
This is not 2020 DB5’s first near-Earth approach, and likely won’t be its last. The massive rock last made an approach in June 1995, but won’t be back until 2048, according to NASA. Though we won’t see our Aston Martin-named visitor for another 25 years, it will be making a quick pass-by of Jupiter in 2024.