NASA says Golden Gate Bridge-sized asteroid will pass by Earth in early Jan

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has revealed that the year 2021 will start with the passing by of four Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), including a huge 220-meter asteroid. NASA said that the 2003 AF23 asteroid with an estimated diameter of 180 metres to 390 metres, nearly as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge, will shot pass the Earth on January 3 at 6.3 million kilometres; it also added that three relatively smaller cosmic debris will approach Earth on January 2 and January 3. 

Read: Huge Asteroid Heading Towards Earth Expected To Pass-by A Day After US Elections

As per NASA, the 2019 YB4 Near-Earth Object will pass by our planet on January 2. The American space agency estimated the diameter of the object to be somewhere between 12 metres to 26 metres. The 2019 YB4 will pass by at a safe distance of 6.4 million kilometres. On January 3, 2020 YA1 and 2020 YP4 will also pass by Earth at a distance of 1.5 million kilometres and 2.1 million kilometres respectively. The NEOs are estimated to be of a size of 12-27 metre and 17-37 metre respectively. 

Read: Asteroid 16 Psyche Worth More Than Earth's Economy Will Be The Closest To The Planet Today

A refrigerator-sized asteroid passed by Earth in Nov

In November, a refrigerator-sized asteroid named 2018 VP1 passed by Earth at the speed of over 25,000 miles per hour. The asteroid, which was approximately 7-feet in diameter exploded in the Earth's atmosphere, creating a strewn field, where the rock breaks up into fragments and pieces are shattered all across the place above which it exploded. The number before the name of the asteroids signifies the year they were discovered in, for example, 2018 VP1 was identified in 2018 by the scientists.

Read: Apophis 'God Of Chaos' Asteroid Is Speeding Up In Its Journey Towards Earth