Three asteroids are making close approaches to our planet today (March 23), but don't worry; the small rocks pose no threat as they drift by Earth, passing closer than the average distance between our planet and the moon.
The largest of the three space rocks, a house-size asteroid called 2021 FH, passed by Earth today at approximately 12:52 p.m. EDT (1652 GMT) at a distance of roughly 145,940 miles (234,870 kilometers), or 0.61 times the average Earth-moon distance. NASA estimates the asteroid's diameter is between 39 feet and 89 feet (12 meters to 27 meters), or about the length of a semi-truck. Details about its orbit have been published online by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Small-Body Database Browser, a database of all known small worlds in our solar system. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center also sent a circular to the community with observations from various astronomers around the world, including updated orbital elements.