If the asteroid's orbit were to shift, the consequences would be catastrophic.
On May 27, 2022, a 1.8-kilometer asteroid designated 7335 (1989 JA) swept past Earth at 76,000 kilometers per hour, close enough by cosmic standards to remind us that our planet moves through a crowded and indifferent universe. NASA confirmed the passage was safe, with the rock clearing Earth by some 4 million kilometers, yet the agency's classification of it as 'potentially hazardous' speaks to a deeper truth: safety is not a permanent condition, but a temporary arrangement of orbits. In response, humanity has begun rehearsing its own defense, launching the DART mission as a first, tentative act of planetary self-preservation.
- A rock four times the height of the Empire State Building is hurtling toward Earth at twenty times the speed of a bullet — and the margin between 'safe' and 'catastrophic' is a matter of orbital geometry.
- NASA's 'potentially hazardous' classification is not alarmism but a sober acknowledgment that gravity is a negotiator, and any future nudge to this asteroid's path could rewrite the outcome entirely.
- This is the largest near-Earth object to approach our planet in 2022, larger than 99% of the 29,000 objects NASA tracks annually, making its passage both a relief and a sobering benchmark.
- The next close approach won't come until 2055, offering humanity a window of time — and NASA is using it, having already launched the DART spacecraft to test whether a deliberate collision can redirect an asteroid's course.
- DART's autumn 2022 impact with the asteroid Dimorphos is not a solution but a proof of concept — the first real dress rehearsal for a threat that may arrive with little warning and no second chances.
On May 27, 2022, asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) passed Earth at 76,000 kilometers per hour — twenty times faster than a bullet — clearing our planet by roughly 4 million kilometers, nearly ten times the Earth-Moon distance. NASA confirmed the passage was safe, but also classified the asteroid as 'potentially hazardous,' a designation that acknowledges what orbital mechanics can do: a small gravitational nudge from another body in space could, over time, turn a near miss into something far worse.
The asteroid measures approximately 1.8 kilometers across, making it four times the size of the Empire State Building and larger than roughly 99 percent of the more than 29,000 near-Earth objects NASA monitors each year. It belongs to the Apollo class — asteroids that orbit the Sun while periodically crossing Earth's path. This year's approach was the closest it will come for decades; its next significant pass won't occur until June 2055, and even then it will be far more distant.
NASA is not waiting to find out whether future odds hold. In November 2021, the agency launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test — DART — a spacecraft designed to collide directly with Dimorphos, a 160-meter asteroid, in autumn 2022. The goal is not destruction but deflection: to learn whether a deliberate impact can alter an asteroid's trajectory enough to matter. It is humanity's first genuine experiment in planetary defense, a carefully prepared answer to a question we hope never becomes urgent.
On May 27, a massive asteroid will streak past Earth at 76,000 kilometers per hour—twenty times faster than a bullet fired from a high-powered rifle. NASA has been tracking this visitor, designated 7335 (1989 JA), and the agency wants the world to know: it will miss us. But only just.
The rock is roughly 1.8 kilometers across, which makes it four times the size of the Empire State Building. It will pass at a distance of about 4 million kilometers—nearly ten times the average distance between Earth and the Moon. By the standards of space, where distances are measured in the vast emptiness between worlds, this is close enough to warrant attention. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA has confirmed the passage will be safe, but the agency has also classified the asteroid as "potentially hazardous," a designation that carries weight. If the asteroid's orbit were ever to shift, if gravity from another body in space were to nudge it even slightly off course, the consequences for Earth would be catastrophic.
This is the largest near-Earth object that will approach our planet this year. NASA monitors more than 29,000 such objects annually—anything that passes within roughly 48 million kilometers of Earth's orbital path. Most are tiny, barely worth a second thought. The 7335 (1989 JA) is larger than about 99 percent of everything NASA tracks. It belongs to a class of asteroids called Apollos, which orbit the Sun while periodically crossing Earth's path. Astronomers have identified roughly 15,000 of these.
The next time this particular asteroid will come close to Earth won't be until June 23, 2055, and even then it will pass much farther away—about seventy times the Earth-Moon distance. So there is time. There is breathing room.
But NASA is not content to simply watch and wait. The agency has begun preparing for a future in which an asteroid might not miss. In November 2021, NASA launched a spacecraft called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. Its mission is straightforward and audacious: to collide head-on with an asteroid and see if the impact can alter its trajectory. The target is Dimorphos, an asteroid 160 meters wide. The collision is scheduled for autumn 2022. The impact won't destroy the asteroid, but it might—just might—nudge it enough to change its path. It is humanity's first real test of planetary defense, a dress rehearsal for a threat that may never come, or may come without warning.
Notable Quotes
The asteroid is larger than about 99 percent of everything NASA tracks— NASA Center for Near-Earth Object Studies
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does NASA call it "potentially hazardous" if it's going to miss us by millions of kilometers?
Because "potentially hazardous" doesn't mean it's dangerous right now. It means if something changed its orbit—another asteroid hitting it, or gravitational pull from a planet—it could become dangerous. The classification is about what could happen, not what will.
Four times the size of the Empire State Building. Can you put that in perspective for someone who's never thought about asteroid size?
The Empire State Building is about 380 meters tall. This asteroid is roughly 1.8 kilometers across. Imagine a rock so large that if you placed it in a city, it would dwarf the tallest buildings. That's the scale we're talking about.
The DART mission sounds like science fiction. Are they really going to crash a spacecraft into an asteroid?
Yes. They're doing it to learn whether we can actually change an asteroid's path if we need to. It's not about destroying the asteroid—it's about nudging it, the way you might tap a billiard ball to change its direction. If it works, we'll know we have a tool.
What happens if the DART mission fails?
Then we learn something too. We learn what doesn't work, and we have time to try something else. The asteroid they're targeting isn't a threat to Earth. This is practice.
So humanity is essentially preparing for a disaster that might never happen?
Or preparing for one that will, eventually. Asteroids have hit Earth before. They will again. We just don't know when. Right now, we're in the phase where we're learning to see them coming and learning to do something about it.