Dr Minjae Kim, Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, said: “2008 OS7, a very small asteroid whose orbit intersects with that of Earth, has been classified as a 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)'. Based on information provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the 2008 OS7 will be projected to approach Earth at a distance of approximately 0.01908 au (~2,854,327 km), with a velocity of 18.167 km/s, around Feb. 02, 2024, 14:41. We don't need to worry about it too much as this asteroid will not enter Earth's atmosphere, while this will still approach close to the Earth. There are more than millions of asteroids in our Solar System, of which ~2,350 asteroids have been classified as PHAs. The next significant approach to Earth by a PHA will be the 99942 Apophis on April 14, 2029.

“This asteroid completes an orbit around the sun every 962 days (2.63 years). One of the most intriguing aspects of the 2008 OS7 is its estimated diameter based on its luminosity and reflective properties, ranging from 0.221 to 0.494 kilometres. This places it in the category of a small to moderately-sized asteroid, roughly equivalent to the size of a football field. Unfortunately, asteroids are generally too faint to have been detected by the current techniques and surveys, so it's very hard to see by our naked eyes. The only asteroid at all visible to the naked eye so far are Pallas and Vesta, having diameters of about 500 km.”