near-earth object

[ neer-urth ]

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

near-Earth object

/ 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.

Example Sentences

It also mandates minimum spending levels on several ongoing missions, including $360 million for the Dragonfly rotocopter to Titan, Saturn’s large moon, and $210 million for the Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission, a space telescope to detect hazardous asteroids.

From Science Magazine

OSIRIS-REx collected its specimen from Bennu, a small, carbon-rich asteroid discovered in 1999 and classified as a "near-Earth object" because it passes relatively close to our planet every six years, though the odds of an impact are considered remote.

From Reuters

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

“So you really need a good pair of binoculars to pick it out and you also need to know where to look,” said said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

From Seattle Times

“In fact, this is one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded.”

From Seattle Times