Two asteroids the size of a skyscraper approaching Earth

Two asteroids the size of a skyscraper approaching Earth

The first asteroid, 2016 CZ31, will fly near our planet at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Associators estimate that the asteroid has about 122 metres. This means that it is the same as a 40-story high-rise building. 2016 CZ31 will pass our planet at about 280,000 kilometres. This is seven times the average distance between Earth and the moon.

According to NASA, this object approaches Earth every few years, next time in January 2028.

On Saturday, 30 July, an even larger asteroid, 2013 CU83, will pass near the Earth, approximately 183 metres across, with a maximum distance of 6,960,000 kilometres, approximately 18 times the average distance between the Earth and the Moon.

The object will be moving at a speed of 21168 km/h and approaching Earth at 7:37 p.m. Eastern time.

NASA and other space agencies closely monitor thousands of similar near-Earth objects.

Even if the asteroid's trajectory goes far away from Earth, there's a small possibility that its orbit could move; even such a tiny shift could potentially lead to a collision with the Earth.