Snowman-Shaped Asteroid 2024 ON Safely Passes Earth

The 1,150-foot contact binary asteroid, moving at 19,842 mph, posed no threat during its close approach on September 17.

Asteroid 2024 ON, resembling a snowman or peanut, passed Earth at a distance of 620,000 miles, about 2.6 times the distance to the Moon.
Radar images from NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar asteroid's unique structure, consisting of two lobes connected by a narrow neck.
The asteroid is classified as a contact binary, a common shape for near-Earth asteroids larger than 660 feet, making up about 14% of such objects.
Despite being labeled potentially hazardous, 2024 ON's trajectory has been accurately predicted, ensuring it poses no threat to Earth for many decades.
The asteroid's passage highlights the importance of ongoing tracking and observation efforts, which have cataloged over 60 near-Earth objects passing between Earth and the Moon this year.