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• near-earth object
  near-earth object

  noun

  a comet or asteroid pushed by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into an orbit that allows it to enter the earth's orbit and thereby pose a danger of collision. NEO
• near-Earth object
  near-Earth object

  A comet or asteroid with an orbit or trajectory that comes near Earth's orbit, often drawn into such a path by the gravitational effect of the Earth and other planets. While there is currently no known near-Earth object on a collision course with Earth, collisions with such objects have taken place in the past and may be associated with mass extinctions such as those that took place at the end of the Permian and Cretaceous Periods.

near-earth object

American  

[neer-urth] / ˈnɪərˈɜrθ /

noun

Astronomy.

1. a comet or asteroid pushed by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into an orbit that allows it to enter the earth's orbit and thereby pose a danger of collision. NEO

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near-Earth object Scientific  

/ nîr′ûrth′ /

1. A comet or asteroid with an orbit or trajectory that comes near Earth's orbit, often drawn into such a path by the gravitational effect of the Earth and other planets. While there is currently no known near-Earth object on a collision course with Earth, collisions with such objects have taken place in the past and may be associated with mass extinctions such as those that took place at the end of the Permian and Cretaceous Periods.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

near-earth object near-Earth object

Detlef Koschny, responsible for near-earth object activity at the ESA's Space Situational Awareness program, said separately that it was now possible to determine possible impact zones with just a few hours' notice.

From Reuters ● Feb. 18, 2013

The finding provides strong evidence that a kinetic impactor could be used as a planetary defense method to redirect a potentially hazardous near-Earth object.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026

OSIRIS-REx collected its specimen from Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid discovered in 1999 and classified as a "near-Earth object" because it passes relatively close to our planet every six years.

From Reuters ● Sep. 23, 2023

It’s true we can’t manipulate the path of every near-Earth object, but we can identify and track their orbits in greater detail than ever before.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2022

But it will be of little comfort if this program, or NASA’s other near-Earth object monitoring systems, identifies a much larger asteroid heading our way, because Earth presently lacks ways to protect itself.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 28, 2022

The center has received some 340 million observations, including more than 28,500 near-Earth object discoveries, all available to the public.

From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2022