When will large asteroid pass Earth in May 2022? Date, how big is it, and should we be worried?

The biggest asteroid of 2022 is said to be heading towards Earth this week, according to NASA.

The asteroid, which is named 7335 (1989 JA), has been classified as "potentially hazardous" by NASA’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

It is one of the 29,000 space rocks which is being constantly monitored by scientists.

So, when will this asteroid pass Earth, just how big is it and should we be worried about it?

Here’s what you need to know.

When will the asteroid pass Earth?

The asteroid will zoom past our planet at 47,000mph on Friday 27 May, according to the experts at NASA.

That’s a speed which is 20 times faster than a speeding bullet.

How close will the asteroid get to Earth and is it dangerous?

The closest the asteroid will get to Earth is about 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometres).

That’s nearly 10 times the average distance between Earth and the moon, which is a very safe passing distance.

It has been labelled as “potentially hazardous” because it is bigger than 150m and will approach the earth at less than half the distance from the earth to the sun, which is around 93 million miles.

Despite this status, it is not considered to be dangerous by scientists.

Could the asteroid hit Earth?

If the orbit of the asteroid were changed, and it were put on track to hit Earth, its status as “potentially hazardous” means it would cause severe impact damage to the planet.

This is extremely unlikely, so there is little cause for concern.

NASA said in November 2021 that it isn’t aware of any asteroids which are 500 feet or more in diameter that have a chance of impacting Earth within the next 100 years.

How big is the asteroid?

The asteroid is thought to be about a mile wide and has been described as “bridge-sized” by NASA.

It will be the largest asteroid which will make a close approach to Earth this year, according to NASA.

When was the asteroid first seen?

As the name suggests, the asteroid was first seen in 1989.

It was spotted by astronomer Eleanor Helin from the California-based Palomar Observatory.

Scientists say it belongs to the class of Apollo asteroids whose orbit crosses the orbit of our planet.

When will the asteroid be seen again?

The next time the asteroid will pass Earth, after Friday 27 May 2022, will be no earlier than 23 June 2055, according to NASA.

It is predicted that, on this date, it will fly past at a distance which is 70 times greater than the distance between the Earth and the moon.

What is an asteroid?

An asteroid is a rocky fragment left over from when the solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago.

Most of these rocks orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter, with scientists estimating there are millions of asteroids in this part of space - some of which are hundreds of kilometres in size.

Sometimes, these asteroids change their orbits if they are influenced by the gravitational tug of planets.