NASA reports that asteroid 2025 OW, roughly the size of an airplane at 220 feet, will safely pass by Earth on Monday, July 28. While headlines may stir concern, scientists emphasize it’s a “routine” occurrence.
Traveling at 46,908 miles per hour, the asteroid will come within 390,000 miles of Earth—about 1.6 times the distance to the Moon. NASA assures there’s no threat, and the event is well within the norms of cosmic activity.
“This is very routine,” said Ian O’Neill from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “If there was a threat, you’d hear from us.” NASA continuously monitors space rocks and would issue alerts through its planetary defense blog if danger were present.
Davide Farnocchia, with NASA’s Near-Earth Object Studies division, noted that such close approaches are common. “It’s just part of the fabric of the solar system,” he said, adding that his team tracks several near-Earth objects weekly.
2025 OW’s orbit is well-known, and NASA has a precise forecast of its path for at least the next 100 years. Unfortunately, due to its distance and size, it won’t be visible with binoculars or amateur telescopes.
However, a more dramatic event is on the horizon: asteroid Apophis will pass just 20,000 miles from Earth in April 2029—closer than some satellites. Originally feared to pose a threat, Apophis is now known to be safe for at least the next century.
Near-Earth objects are asteroids or comets that come within 120 million miles of the Sun. Most are small, but NASA tracks them to refine their orbits over time.
