They're named after the absolutely enormous asteroid 887 Alinda, first discovered in 1918. At roughly 2.5 miles across, 887 Alinda would cause an extinction-level catastrophe if it struck Earth.

A massive asteroid, spanning more than two miles across, has just made its closest approach to Earth in decades - but its spectacle isn’t over yet. The asteroid, named (887) Alinda, will reach ...

the larger asteroid, 887 Alinda, is over four kilometres in diameter and could cause a global extinction event. A radar image of asteroid Alinda taken in January 2024. The rectangular region is ...