Massive asteroid 4x Empire State Building size to pass Earth safely on May 27

On May 27, 2022, an ancient rock nearly two kilometers wide will sweep past Earth at four million kilometers—a whisper in cosmic terms, yet enough to remind us that our planet moves through a solar system still very much in motion. Catalogued as 7335 (1989 JA) and traveling at 76,000 kilometers per hour, the asteroid carries no immediate menace, but its presence invites the older, quieter question humanity has always deferred: what would we do if it were aimed at us? NASA's answer, still being written, takes the form of spacecraft and mathematics rather than prayer.