Two bus-sized asteroids to whizz past Earth on November 11

NASA believes that neither of the two asteroids poses a threat to Earth. The US space agency classifies an asteroid as "potentially hazardous" if it is larger than 150 metres. These two oncoming asteroids are not that big. As a point of comparison, Earth and the moon are typically separated by roughly 239,000 miles (385,000 km).

NASA's 'Asteroid Watch' tracks asteroids coming near earth

NASA's Asteroid Watch dashboard tracks comets and asteroids and shows key data including the date of an asteroid's closest approach, relative size, object diameter and distance from Earth. Furthermore, real-time imaging of asteroids and comets throughout the galaxy is available on the 'Eyes on Asteroids' portal.

What are asteroids?

Rocky pieces that date back 4.6 billion years to the birth of our solar system are known as asteroids. They provide an important record of the evolution of our early solar system. The estimated number of asteroids is 1.3 million.

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Why study asteroids?

The majority of meteorites that have struck the Earth's surface so far are from their asteroid sources, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Since many of these meteorites have undergone extensive chemical and physical studies, research on them is essential, the space agency said. These space objects, which have been there since the Earth's formation 4.6 billion years ago, might be the key to understanding life on Earth, according to scientists.

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Larger asteroids have the potential to inflict catastrophic local or worldwide catastrophes if they impact Earth. Studying the compositions, structures, sizes, and trajectories of asteroids is essential to reducing the possible threats they present, even though the likelihood of such an impact is unlikely, NASA said.