London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

5 asteroids buzz by Earth TODAY, as NASA gears up for historic touchdown on asteroid Bennu

5 asteroids buzz by Earth TODAY, as NASA gears up for historic touchdown on asteroid Bennu

With just 73 days left in 2020, NASA has published an alert that not one, but five asteroids are passing by Earth today, as the agency’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft prepares to touch down on a space rock 200 million miles away.

The first three of the day’s five space rocks have mercifully passed the Earth by without incident, according to the Asteroid Watch Widget that tracks asteroids and comets that will make relatively close approaches to our planet.

2020 TJ6, measuring 10m in diameter or roughly half a bowling lane, passed the planet at a blistering speed of 40,824kph, but at a safe distance of 1.2 million km. The asteroid was followed by 2020 UX, the tiniest out of the five, which passed the Earth at 190,000km, and 2020 TD6, with a diameter of 7.4m or half the height of the Hollywood Sign.


© NASA


Still to come are the 14-meter 2020 UK, with a diameter roughly the length of a semitrailer, which is expected to fly past at 6.2 million km.

Bringing up the rear will be the fastest space rock of the day, the one-meter-wide 2020 TF6, which will shoot by at a speed of 43,200kph, just 153,000km away – well within the range of the Moon which orbits the Earth at an average of 385,000km.

None of these compare with humanity’s own extreme close flyby expected to take place on Tuesday at the Bennu asteroid located over 200 million miles from Earth on that day.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx will make its first attempt at collecting a sample of the space rock shortly before 2pm ET on Tuesday. The craft is expected to touch down for just a few seconds, long enough for its robotic arm to blast the surface with high pressure gas and vacuum up some of the asteroid’s space dust for analysis back here on Earth.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that this will be the only time we touch the surface,” said Richard Burns, the OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA’s Goddard Flight Center.

Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
It would be cool if NASA could at least get a man on the moon unlike the studio production they did years ago.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×