It crossed safely.. A giant asteroid makes its closest pass by Earth in more than 400 years sciences

He crossed safely… This is how one of the most prominent astronomical events of the year ended, after the giant asteroid “NC One 1997” passed its closest point to Earth yesterday, Saturday, June 27, 2026, passing at a distance of about 2.56 million kilometers, that is, more than 6 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, at a speed of approximately 8.9 kilometers per second, without posing any danger to our planet.

This is the closest passage of the asteroid in more than 400 years, and astronomers were able to spot it relatively easily thanks to its luminosity, which reached about the tenth magnitude.

“NC One 1997” is classified as a near-Earth asteroid, and its diameter is estimated at between 700 and 1,600 meters, that is, the size of a small mountain. It was discovered in 1997 by the “Near-Earth Objects Observation” (NEAT) project at the Haleakala Observatory on the island of Hawaii.

Although it is included in the list of “potentially dangerous” asteroids, this classification only means that its orbit deserves careful monitoring, and not that it poses an actual threat to Earth at the present time.

This transit confirms the importance of planetary monitoring and defense programs that constantly track thousands of near-Earth objects. If an asteroid of this size collided with the Earth – a scenario not possible for this visit – it would create a crater with a diameter of about 10 kilometers, and would release huge amounts of dust that could affect the planet’s climate for years.

Therefore, scientists believe that tracking such asteroids is not a reason for fear, but rather evidence that humanity has become more capable than ever before of monitoring cosmic dangers and preparing for them.