An asteroid more than 120 meters in diameter will pass close to Earth on Saturday.

NASA scientists say an asteroid will pass less than 290,000 kilometers from Earth on Saturday afternoon, June 29. It's the second such asteroid in less than a week.

An asteroid between 120 and 260 meters in diameter It is preparing to pass close to planet Earth on Saturday, June 29, without any danger of colliding with the blue planet. According to Astronomers from the European Space Agency (ESA)The celestial body will pass near the Earth's surface at 1:46 pm UTC (3:45 pm Paris time).

Scientists say the asteroid will pass less than 290,000 kilometers from Earth, about 75% of the distance between the planet and the moon.

“No risk of impact”

The late discovery of this near-Earth object (NEO) – June 16, 2024 – comes as we celebrate Asteroid Day. “MK2024 was discovered just a few days ago,” confirms Richard Moisl, from ESA’s Planetary Defence Office. “An asteroid of this size that close to Earth is a fairly rare event, but there is no risk of collision.”

Because of its size and proximity, 2024 MK will be observable in clear, dark skies with a small telescope aimed at amateur astronomers in some parts of the world.

This is the second such event in a week. On Thursday, June 27, a much larger asteroid passed close to the blue planet, but at a greater distance, as it approached Earth no closer than 6,634,850 kilometers, which is equivalent to 17 times the distance between Earth and the moon. (415029) 2011 UL21This asteroid was discovered on October 17, 2011.