An aircraft-sized asteroid named 2023 XO7 will pass Earth on December 26, according to NASA
NASA uses telescopes to track Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and determine their orbits around the Sun.
Asteroid 2023 XO7 is expected to come within 2.4 million kilometers of Earth, traveling at a speed of 24,182 kilometers per hour.
Despite its classification as a Near-Earth Asteroid, 2023 XO7 is not a threat to impact the planet.
It belongs to the Apollo group of NEAs, named after the 1862 Apollo asteroid discovered in the 1930s.
The asteroid is almost 75 feet wide, comparable in size to an aircraft.
NASA has not labeled it a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid as it doesn't meet the size and distance criteria.
This is not the first close approach; it previously passed Earth on November 16, 1961, at a distance of 55 million kilometers.
After the current pass, it will approach Earth again on March 26, 2155, at approximately 70 million kilometers.
Asteroid 2023 XO7 is part of the dynamic and Earth-crossing Apollo group.