NASA has highlighted, using ground-based and space telescopes, five asteroids expected to pass near Earth in the coming days, up until the last day of 2023. Astronomers have identified asteroid 2023 YD as the first of these asteroids, set to approach Earth on December 28. This space rock spans approximately 28 meters in width and will come within about 605,000 km of our planet, traveling at a speed of 35,790 km/h. Although this asteroid is larger than the Chelyabinsk meteor, which caused devastating damage in 2013 when its fragments struck Earth after breaking apart in the atmosphere, it is not classified as a potentially hazardous object and is not expected to pose a threat.
On December 29, asteroid 2023 YZ will pass by Earth, coming within an estimated 308 million km of our planet's surface. This space rock measures about 27 meters in width and is moving towards Earth at a speed of 20,199 km/h. On December 30, Earth will encounter asteroid 2023 YM, which will approach our planet from a distance of about 3.8 million km. This asteroid, about 37 meters wide, travels at a speed of 44,491 km/h.
Asteroid 2023 XE12, measuring 40 meters in width, is expected to pass by Earth from a distance of approximately 5.6 million km on December 31, moving at a speed of 42,386 km/h. The last day of December and the year 2023 will also see the passage of another asteroid, named 2021 AM6. This asteroid has a width of 16 meters and will come within 7 million km of Earth's surface.
**Apollo Group**
All five asteroids belong to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). This type of asteroid is named after the asteroid Apollo, discovered in 1862, which is one of the largest space rocks to have ever passed by Earth.
