NASA reports 'potentially hazardous' stadium-size asteroid. Here's how close it will come to Earth

Space is vast and filled with all sorts of objects that make up beautiful celestial events that we see light up the sky, but sometimes those objects get a bit too close for comfort.

In the past week, NASA has identified five asteroids approaching Earth. One of them has been identified as a "potentially hazardous asteroid," due to it measuring roughly the size of a football stadium and being expected to come into close proximity to Earth on Friday, Feb. 2.

Asteroid 2008 OS7 is the largest of the five asteroids that are expected to come within range of our planet. Three are around the size of planes and another is about the size of a house. Asteroid 2008 OS7 may be the largest, but it won't be coming as close as one of the other asteroids.

How close will the asteroid come to Earth Friday?

Asteroid 2008 OS7 is expected to come within 1.77 million miles of Earth, according to the space agency. The distance is about seven times farther from our planet than the moon — which is around 239,000 miles away from Earth.

How big is asteroid 2008 OS7?

NASA scientists have measured the asteroid to be around 890 feet or about the size of a sports stadium.

When are the other four asteroids expected to pass by Earth?

The other four asteroids that NASA talked about will be making their way past Earth over the next few days, with some coming a bit closer than asteroid 2008 OS7.

Asteroid 2024 BJ3, which measures about 70 feet — about the size of a commercial airplane, will come the closest. It will be within 533,000 miles of Earth. It will also make its way past Earth on Friday, Feb. 2.

Asteroid 2024 BY measures around 63 feet (about the size of a house) and will come within 1.57 million miles of Earth on Thursday.

Asteroid 2003 BMY, around 120-foot, will also pass by Earth on Thursday at a distance of more than 2 million miles.

Finally, asteroid 2024 BP1, measuring in at around 130 feet, will also pass by Earth at 2.13 million miles on Friday.

Will an asteroid hit Earth in 2029?

NASA keeps a close eye on potentially hazardous objects that come close to Earth. One of those is an asteroid with the name Apophis.

First discovered in 2004, Asteroid 99942 Apophis measures across at 1,100 feet and is expected to make a very close brush with Earth in the next five years.

After its discovery, Apophis quickly became known as an asteroid that could potentially pose a serious threat to Earth when astronomers predicted that it would come uncomfortably close in 2029. Years of additional observations of Apophis have ruled out the risk of an impact in 2029. In 2021 astronomers were also able to rule out potential impact risk posed by another close approach in 2036, NASA reports.

“A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years,” said Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

How often do asteroids hit Earth?

It's not too often that an asteroid that can cause damage makes it through Earth's atmosphere.

According to NASA, almost every year, an automobile-sized asteroid hits Earth’s atmosphere, creates a fireball, and burns up before reaching the surface. And it is only about every 2,000 years (give or take), that a hunk of space rock the size of a football field makes it to Earth to cause significant damage to an area.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASA: Stadium-sized asteroid among 5 near Earth. How close it will be