Asteroid the size of Gibraltar to pass Earth
2014 J025 is nearly a mile wide and is hurtling through space at 73mph

An asteroid that is almost one mile wide – the size of the Rock of Gibraltar - will pass close to Earth today.
However, there is no risk of collision as it will be be 1.1 million miles away - about 4.6 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon and the closest an asteroid of this size has come to us in a decade.
2014 J025 is estimated to be between a quarter and three-quarters of a mile (600-1,400 meters) in width and is travelling at about 75,000mph, relative to the Earth.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Amateur astronomers should be on high alert - the asteroid's surface is around twice as reflective as that of the Moon so while it will not be visible to the naked eye, it will be bright enough to watch through a home telescope for one or two nights.
Robotic telescope service Slooh said J025's close approach was an "alarming reminder" of just how close destructive chunks of space debris come to Earth on an almost daily basis and that even a 30-metre sized asteroid could cause "significant damage" to a major city, reports the Daily Mirror.
Nasa scientists are tracking the prospect of even closer encounters in the future. In 2027, the half-mile-wide 1999 AN10 is predicted to pass closer to the Earth than the Moon, coming within 236,000 miles of our planet.
There has been no asteroid strike big enough to wipe out all life for at least three billion years, says the Daily Telegraph. But the dinosaur era may have ended when an object six miles in diameter, possibly an asteroid, hit the Mexican coast 65 million years ago, triggering a global winter that wiped out three-quarters of the species on Earth.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cuts
Cartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: March 30, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
The New Jersey 'UFO' drone scare
In the Spotlight Reports of mysterious low-flying aircraft provoked outlandish theories, but old-fashioned hysteria appears to have been to blame
By The Week UK Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published