4 big asteroids are flying by Earth this week, but don't worry. They aren't getting too close.

A large asteroid flying safely by Earth.
Four large asteroids are flying within 2.2 million miles of Earth this week, but none pose an impact risk to our planet, NASA says. (Image credit: Getty Images/Buradaki)

A quartet of large asteroids are zooming by Earth this week, but they'll all pass our planet with millions of miles to spare, according to NASA. 

The near-Earth asteroids are all passing within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of our planet — close enough to make NASA's potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) list — but none will come closer than 2.2 million miles (3.5 million km), according to NASA's weekly chart of asteroid passes

According to our sister site Livescience, this week's big space rock flybys start with the asteroid 2012 DK31, which measures about 450 feet (137 meters) across — wider than a 40-story skyscraper is tall. It passed within 3 million miles (4.8 million km) of Earth on Monday (Feb. 27). While 2012 DK31's close approach distance meets NASA's PHA requirements, the agency has projected its path for the next 200 years and found it won't pose an impact risk to Earth, Livescience reported.

Related: How big must an asteroid be to end human civilization?

A second big asteroid called 2006 BE55 will fly by Earth today (Feb. 28) and is the one passing within 2.2 million miles of our planet. At 450 feet across, this asteroid is about the same size as 2023 DK31 and takes up to five years to orbit the Earth, according to Livescience

On Friday (March 3), two more big asteroids will pass the Earth, including the biggest of the week's four close-flying space rocks.

First, there's asteroid 2007 ED125. It's about 700 feet (213 m) across, making it the size of a large football stadium and the largest of the week's asteroid flybys. It will be nearly 2.8 million miles (4.4 million km) from Earth during its flyby, according to NASA. The second large asteroid is 2021 QW, which is 250 feet (76 m) across and will pass within 3.3 million miles (5.3 million km) of Earth.

There are actually two more asteroids flying by Earth on Friday (March 3), but both are about the size of a large airplane — much smaller than 2007 ED125 and 2021 QW. One, called 2017 BM123, is 190 feet (58 m) wide and will pass within nearly 2.9 million miles (4.6 million km). 

The other is a newly discovered asteroid called 2023 DX and will pass within 1.2 million miles (2 million km) of Earth. It was first detected on Monday (Feb. 27), according to NASA.

NASA researchers and other scientists around the world regularly scan the skies for asteroids that may one day pose an impact risk to Earth. Space rocks larger than 492 feet (150 m) with orbits that pass within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of Earth are considered to be potentially hazardous objects. 

In addition to observing and tracking asteroids with telescopes, astronomers can use radio antennas like NASA's Goldstone facility with the Deep Space Network to make radar observations of passing space rocks. 

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.