In an artistic rendering, two asteroids are shown flying past Earth. One of these asteroids, named 2024 MK, will safely pass by Earth on Saturday, June 29, 2024. It was first spotted by South African astronomers two weeks ago and is estimated to be between 393 feet to 853 feet (120 to 260 meters) wide. The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 9:46 AM EST (13:46 GMT), flying by at about three-quarters the distance from Earth to the moon.
The majority of asteroids in our solar system are primarily located in the Asteroid Belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter. After Jupiter formed, its massive gravity prevented these space rocks from forming into more planetary bodies, leaving behind the Asteroid Belt as a rocky world in its place.
The largest known asteroid is Ceres, which is about one-quarter the size of the moon. Asteroids are primarily made of rock, with some containing clay, silicate, and different metals such as nickel and iron.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission was responsible for collecting samples from the asteroid Bennu and returning them to Earth. In 2015, scientists observed water gullies on the asteroid Vesta, which were caused by the impact of a smaller asteroid melting trapped water ice and trickling it onto the larger asteroid, leaving behind water trails in the rocks.