Gigantic asteroid with 'huge destructive potential' plummeting toward Earth at 31,228 mph

An enormous asteroid is slated to pass by Earth at a chilling closeness on Monday as it travels at mind-boggling speeds, NASA revealed.

The asteroid, labeled 2024 ON2, is approximately 120 feet, which is the size of an airplane, and it's slated to pass within 4.18 million miles of Earth.

While that might seem like a long distance from the planet and a tiny size compared with how large Earth is, the space rock is traveling at approximately 31,228 mph — fast enough to cause literally astronomical damage if it were to collide with anything in its path.

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ON2 is reportedly a part of the Aten classification of asteroids, which are all designated as "near-Earth objects" (NEOs). That essentially means they orbit close to the Earth from time to time.

Usually, NEOs are small or not considered dangerous. NASA wrote on its Jet Propulsion Laboratory page, which tracks the next approaches by asteroids to Earth, "The dashboard displays the next five Earth approaches to within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers or 19.5 times the distance to the moon); an object larger than about 150 meters that can approach the Earth to within this distance is termed a potentially hazardous object."

Because ON2 isn't above 150 meters (492 feet), it's not considered a threat. But what would happen if ON2 were closer to hitting Earth or actually did strike the planet?

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News 9 Live reported that the damage would be catastrophic. Entire swaths of Earth would be wiped out, and there would be devastating, lasting impacts to the environment and to the geology of the entire planet.

If a 100-foot asteroid were to hit Earth above New York City, it would explode about 6 miles in the air, causing a massive burst that would light trees on fire for 13 miles in every direction. All trees within about 2.8 miles would be destroyed, as would all houses within about a mile and a half, News 9 Live reported.

Around 800,000 people would instantly die, and another 2 million would be injured. The entire landscape would be devastated, and the loss in terms of property and lives would be immense.

NASA constantly has satellites monitoring asteroids approaching the Earth in the hopes of deterring one that might hit the planet and cause massive damage. Several other relatively large asteroids are also slated to pass by Earth within that 4.6 million-mile threshold over the next few days.

First, a 59-foot asteroid the size of a house, labeled 2024 PS1, will pass within 847,000 miles traveling at speeds of around 19,215 mph on Tuesday. On Wednesday, two asteroids, 2024 PH2 and 2024 PO3, will pass within 1.12 million miles and 1.7 million miles of Earth, respectively, traveling at respective speeds of 22,861 mph and 17,403 mph. PH2 is approximately 100 feet in size, while PO3 is about 38 feet — the size of a plane and a bus, respectively.

Finally, on Friday, a massive 180-foot airplane-sized asteroid called 2021 GY1 will pass within 4.2 million miles of Earth, traveling at speeds of around 14,137 mph. Despite the large size of a few of the asteroids, none meet the size requirement to consider them particularly dangerous. NASA's website is constantly updating with new sightings and asteroid information.