2018 CC and 2018 CB — two small asteroids recently discovered by NASA-funded astronomers — safely flew past our planet this week.
This is an artist’s impression of an asteroid. Image credit: University of Colorado.
Asteroid 2018 CC is estimated to be between 50 and 100 feet (15 and 30 m) in size.
Its close approach to Earth came Tuesday (February 6) at 12:10 p.m. PST (3:10 p.m. EST) at a distance of about 114,000 miles (184,000 km).
Asteroid 2018 CB safely flew past Earth today at a distance of about 39,000 miles (64,000 km). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Of potentially greater interest is 2018 CB, which safely flew past Earth today (February 9) at around 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST).
Its closest approach to our planet was at a distance of about 39,000 miles (64,000 km), which is less than one-fifth the distance of Earth to the Moon.
2018 CB is estimated to be between 50 and 130 feet (15 and 40 m) in size.
“Although 2018 CB is quite small, it might well be larger than the asteroid that entered the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, almost exactly five years ago, in 2013,” said Dr. Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planet — maybe only once or twice a year.”
Both asteroids were discovered by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey on February 4, 2018.
