Even though the fly-bys occur at a relatively safe distance from Earth, two unusually massive asteroids that are being monitored by NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) will showcase what experts consider to be a close encounter with the planet.
Two massive asteroids hurtling towards Earth, NASA says
STEPANAKERT, JULY 30, ARTSAKHPRESS: Initially, at 7:02 p.m. Asteroid 2016 CZ31 will fly by Earth 1.7 million miles away at a speed of 34,5000 miles per hour on Friday, July 29, at 05:00 Eastern Time, Mashable reported.
According to Newsweek, this is one-fifth the speed of a lightning strike and 17 times quicker than a rifle bullet.
The substantially bigger 2013 CU83 asteroid, this one as big as 1,050 feet across, will fly by Earth at a relatively smaller 13,100 miles per hour, at a distance of more than 3 million miles, at 7:37 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 30, almost exactly 24 hours after the 2016 CZ31 occurrence.
Its height is comparable to that of the Empire State Building in New York City and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
