An asteroid the size of a football field barely missed Earth in a surprise flyby


In space, an asteroid that comes within 120,000 miles of Earth is considered a close call.
So we should feel lucky that a flying boulder whizzed past us Sunday without incident, especially considering that scientists didn't see the massive rock coming until the last minute. The asteroid, named 2018 GE3, was the size of a football field, measuring about up to 361 feet in diameter.
Because asteroids are relatively small and dark, LiveScience reports, it can be hard to predict when one will approach our planet — which is a fairly rare occurrence anyway. This most recent asteroid passed at half the moon's distance from Earth — about 119,500 miles — but the Catalina Sky Survey didn't spot it until a few hours before because the massive rock reflected so little light.
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.
Telescopes used by NASA are generally on the lookout for much larger and potentially extremely dangerous flying objects, reports LiveScience, so it's easy for skywatchers to miss smaller asteroids that would have only a, say, mildly devastating effect on impact. So rest assured: If a truly enormous asteroid were on its way to slam into Earth, NASA would let you know.
In fact, you can mark your calendar now: An asteroid 10 times the size of 2018 GE3 is coming our way, and will approach our planet in 2036.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Quiz of The Week: 26 July – 1 August
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Uttar Pradesh: from a once-in-a-generation festival to tiger tracking in an ancient forest
The Week Recommends Soak up the state's rich culture on one of Explorations Company's specially curated tours
-
The Week Unwrapped: Could AI replace catwalk models?
Podcast Plus, should countries sue each other for climate damage? And what does Grand Theft Auto 6 tell us about the video game industry?
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada