Asteroid 2023 FL2 is 35 meters long, about the same length as almost 33 nine-banded armadillos standing nose to tail. But it won’t hit us, and armadillos could be even scarier.
NASA’s asteroid tracker says that an asteroid about the size of almost 33 armadillos will pass by Earth on Sunday.
The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says that 2023 FL2 is the name of the asteroid and was found this year (JPL).
If you’re wondering how this measurement is made, it is the total length of the nine-banded armadillo species, including the tail, and not the animal’s size when it is rolled into a ball.
How big is the asteroid coming toward Earth in 2023?
NASA says that Asteroid 2023 FL2 has a diameter of up to 35 meters, which is small compared to most asteroids.
Let’s compare this astronomical (not figurative) size to a cute armored mammal: the armadillo.
The most common type of armadillo is the nine-banded armadillo, which can grow up to 107 centimeters long if it doesn’t roll into a ball.