Washington DC: Two massive asteroids, 2024 SD3 and 2024 SR4, are racing towards Earth and expected to pass by our planet in the next few hours.
NASA is on high alert, with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) tracking the asteroids closely.
Asteroid 2024 SD3 is expected to fly by close to Earth, at a distance of around 1,490,000 kilometres. It is 68 feet wide and of the size of a small aeroplane.
Asteroid 2024 SR4 is smaller in size and measures around 51 feet. It will be be flying at a distance of 1,670,000 kilometres.
NASA and other space agencies have advanced computing system and a network of telescopes for identifying near-Earth objects (NEOs).
While most of the NEOs don’t come very close to Earth, some of them get tagged as “potentially hazardous” as they are at a scary distance from Earth and need to be monitored.