5 Asteroids That Zoomed Past Earth In December 2023 

Asteroids are just space-rocks. But their enormous speeds give them the capability of ending life on a planet in case of a direct collision. Here are a few that hurtled past (and did not hit) Earth in December 2023: 

Asteroid 2023 XH7

This asteroid was a small one, just 34 feet across. But it travelled past Earth at an immensely brisk speed of 71276 kilometres an hour. 

Asteroid 2014 HK129

This one was the size of a stadium, with a 680-foot diameter. The asteroid travelled at a speed of 41680 kilometers per hour and flew past Earth on December 20.

Bulgogi 

Slightly smaller than the last one but not much. Asteroid 2017 XQ60 whooshed past Earth with a speed of 57463 kilometres per hour on December 21. 

Asteroid 2022 UD9 

This one was between 393 to 885 feet long. It came as close as 1.7 million kilometres from Earth on December 22 at a mind-numbing speed of 36969 kilometres per hour.

Asteroid 2022 YQ 

This is another bit small candidate in the list but its high-speed gave it unimaginable momentum. The 26-foot asteroid flew past Earth on December 19 at a speed of 53063 kilometres per hour.