NASA announces an asteroid the size of a six-floor building is approaching Earth

September's notable events include the Epsilon-Perseid shooting star shower, the super full harvest moon and, of course, the autumn equinox. But, just like every month, there are other events taking place in the vicinity of our planet: numerous asteroids streak close to us. These celestial objects, sometimes considered 'potentially dangerous', are monitored by NASA. One of them has caught their attention.

2021 JA5 is an Apollo-class asteroid

2021 JA5 was first detected on September 5, 2021. According to NASA, it's an 18-meter Apollo-type asteroid, about the size of a 5- or 6-story building.

It is expected to come as close to Earth as possible on September 6, but how dangerous is it for us?

Read more:NASA reveals new 'potentially dangerous' asteroid, twice the size of a football field

This asteroid is not considered as 'potentially dangerous'

Fortunately, 2021 JA5 is unlikely to pose any great threat to our planet. For one thing, it's not expected to pass within 5 million kilometers of Earth (unless NASA miscalculated), and what's more, even in the event of a collision, it would cause only minor damage. By way of comparison, an asteroid the size of the One Trade Center was spotted by NASA in July, and could have done enormous damage on impact.

As the Space Agency reminds us, an asteroid is considered 'potentially dangerous' when it is likely to come within 7.5 million kilometers of our Blue Planet and measures more than 150 meters across. 2021 JA5 meets only one of these criteria.

Read more:An asteroid 5 times bigger than the Empire State Building will graze the Earth

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

NASA: Next Five Asteroid Approaches