Four asteroids flew past Earth on October 25, including "city killers"

2022 YD6 approaches Earth within 270,000 kilometers

Three other asteroids come close to Earth

Four large asteroids passed near Earth on Tuesday, October 25, according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). The largest of these, a potentially hazardous asteroid known as 2022 YD6, passed within 270,000 kilometers of Earth, closer than the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

The other three asteroids that passed near Earth on Tuesday were 2022 YC5, 2022 YT4, and 2022 YW1. These asteroids were smaller than 2022 YD6, but still large enough to cause significant damage if they were to impact Earth.

2022 YD6 is classified as a "city killer" asteroid, meaning that it has the potential to cause widespread destruction if it were to impact a populated area. According to NASA, 2022 YD6 is about 100 meters in diameter and has a mass of about 100,000 tons.

The other three asteroids that passed near Earth on Tuesday are not classified as city killers, but they could still cause significant damage if they were to impact Earth. 2022 YC5 is about 50 meters in diameter and has a mass of about 10,000 tons. 2022 YT4 is about 30 meters in diameter and has a mass of about 1,000 tons. 2022 YW1 is about 20 meters in diameter and has a mass of about 100 tons.

NASA's CNEOS tracks asteroids and comets that come close to Earth. The center uses data from telescopes around the world to track the orbits of these objects and to predict their future paths.