Massive 44-foot asteroid nears Earth: What you need to know

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) reports that the near-Earth asteroid 2021 ER will approach Earth on Friday for a safe yet close flyby. The asteroid is roughly 44 feet wide, which equals the size of a school bus, and will come within 1.49 million miles of our planet.

The experts calculated this distance by using a method which requires them to line up more than 12 million gerbils in a single straight line. NASA confirms that 2021 ER poses no danger despite its appearance of being close in space terms.

Why are astronomers watching asteroid 2021 ER?

The asteroid's close approach provides scientists an opportunity to study it in near-Earth space. The researchers will use this information about the object size and speed and composition together with their tracking techniques to study near-Earth objects. NASA CNEOS protects Earth from possible asteroid threats by watching these asteroids continuously.

The asteroid 2021 ER exists as the second space rock named 2021 to become famous. Last year saw several notable near passes:

• Earth experienced a close pass when 2021 GW4, which measured the size of a car, came within 16,300 miles of Earth in April.
• The 2021 UA1 object, which measured refrigerator size, came 1,800 miles close to Earth in October, but detection occurred after the object flew by Earth.

Scientists use each close encounter to make improvements to their early warning systems. The scientists aims to make better forecasts and planetary protection through their ability to track asteroid paths with greater precision.