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THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY SAYS CLOSE FLYBYS OF SUCH LARGE ASTEROIDS ARE 'INFREQUENT' 17:19, 03 Jun 2025 An asteroid the size of the Golden Gate Bridge will make a rare close
encounter with Earth this week. Called Asteroid 424482 (2008 DG5), the space rock was classified as a 'potentially hazardous asteroid' by NASA due to its close passes with Earth.
The lump of space rock is bigger than 97 per cent of all known asteroids, according to SpaceReference.org, estimated to measure between 310 and 690 metres (1,017 and 2,264 feet). The
asteroid, roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, US, will fly safely by Earth on Thursday (June 5). Asteroid 424482 (2008 DG5) will come within 2.17 million
miles (3.49 million kilometers) of Earth, which is just nine times the distance between our home planet and the Moon. Article continues below While that may not sound close, the European
Space Agency classifies the event as 'infrequent' on its Close Approach Index, which assesses how often an object of a given size passes within a certain distance of Earth. NASA
classifies any object that comes within 4.6 million miles of Earth and is larger than 492 feet as a 'potentially hazardous object' due to its potential to cause significant
regional damage if it smashed into Earth. If a space rock the size of Asteroid 424482 (2008 DG5) did strike Earth, it could cause catastrophic regional damage, possibly causing shock waves
and tsunamis, Forbes reports. The asteroid was discovered in 2008 by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, which is part of NASA’s Near Earth Object Observation Program. It orbits
the Sun every 514 Earth days and is due to make another close approach with Earth in 2032. Sky watchers hoping to see the asteroid's close approach on June 5 can watch a live showing by
the Virtual Telescope Project. The online event will begin at 22:00 UTC (11pm BST) on June 5, before the asteroid reaches its minimum distance to Earth at 23:59 UTC (12.59am BST). The
asteroid is expected to fly safely past Earth and is not on the ESA's risk list. Article continues below Earlier this year, another near-Earth asteroid drew global attention after
astronomers revealed it had a non-zero chance of smashing into Earth in 2032, climbing to the top of NASA's and the ESA's risk lists. Asteroid 2024 YR4 hit headlines after NASA
upped its odds of impact to 3.1 per cent – the highest ever recorded for an asteroid of its size, but as more data came in, it reduced this chance down to near zero. The Golden Gate
Bridge's main span is 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and its total height is 746 feet (227 m).