Eiffel Tower-sized asteroid approaching Earth at alarming speed on...; check date, other details

An asteroid considered to be even larger than the Eiffel Tower is expected to fly past Earth this weekend, elevating concerns among scientists about the dangers that still lurk in space. The asteroid, officially named 387746 (2003 MH4), is classed as a “Potentially Hazardous Asteroid” (PHA) because of its huge length and its path being very close to Earth.

This space rock is set 1, a hundred feet wide (335 meters) – roughly the peak of a hundred-storey building – and is hurtling through space at a speed of 30,060 kilometers per hour. It will be closed to the Earth on May 24 at 4:07 PM IST (10:37 UTC). Even though it is going to safely omit Earth, its close pass is a reminder of how prone our planet can be in terms of giant objects from the area.

Asteroid 2003 MH4 belongs to a group of asteroids called the Apollo organisation, which can be recognised for having orbits that pass Earth’s path across the Sun. This makes them more risky than other asteroids because even a mild exchange in their course may bring them dangerously close to Earth in the future.

Although 2003 MH4 will skip at a distance of approximately 6.67 million kilometers from Earth, which may also sound very far but when we look at it in space terms, that’s quite close. In layman's terms, it is just 17 times the space between the Earth and the Moon. Since it’s also larger than 460 toes and springs inside 7.5 million kilometers of Earth’s orbit, it meets the criteria to be considered a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid.

One of the stressful matters approximately asteroids like that is that their orbits can alternate through the years. This could take place due to gravitational pulls from planets or maybe the effect of daylight, referred to as the Yarkovsky effect, that could slowly shift their route.

If an asteroid of this size were to hit Earth, the effect would be catastrophic. It could launch energy equal to hundreds of nuclear bombs. The destruction would lead to massive tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, and a dark, dusty atmosphere that blocks sunlight – something scientists name an "impact winter." Such occurrences can very severely affect life on Earth.

Luckily, various space agencies such as NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) are keeping a very close watch on this asteroid and lots of others, to ensure we are alerted well in time if any real danger ever appears.

So, while 2003 MH4 isn’t going to hit us this time, it’s a warning call to stay alert and preserve tracking these silent cosmic threats.