Humanity is set to experience yet another close encounter with a ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid tonight.
But don’t worry, because the space rock is only about the size of a lorry and is due to speed harmlessly past our planet and back out into the void.
It was only discovered on December 28 and will zoom by at early tomorrow morning at 12.40am UK time.
The asteroid will travel past at almost five times the distance from the Earth to the moon, making it the closest approach of the month. It will speed by at 23,488 miles per hour.
Nasa describes asteroids as ‘hazardous’ if they come within 4,600,000 miles of Earth.
The space rock is between six and 21 metres wide and was first spotted by the Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS) in Arizona.
The next close approach is expected to take places on 16 June 2155 where it will fly at around 16,700,000 miles from our planet.
This is a much further than the 238,855 million miles which separate the Earth and moon.
Scientists recently investigated a mysterious cigar-shaped asteroid which entered our solar system to see if it’s an alien probe.
MORE: Eerie skull-shaped ‘Halloween Death Asteroid’ will return to Earth this year
MORE: Did an alien probe enter our solar system?
Humanity is set to experience yet another close encounter with a ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid tonight.
But don’t worry, because the space rock is only about the size of a lorry and is due to speed harmlessly past our planet and back out into the void.
It was only discovered on December 28 and will zoom by at early tomorrow morning at 12.40am UK time.
The asteroid will travel past at almost five times the distance from the Earth to the moon, making it the closest approach of the month. It will speed by at 23,488 miles per hour.
Nasa describes asteroids as ‘hazardous’ if they come within 4,600,000 miles of Earth.
The space rock is between six and 21 metres wide and was first spotted by the Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS) in Arizona.
The next close approach is expected to take places on 16 June 2155 where it will fly at around 16,700,000 miles from our planet.
This is a much further than the 238,855 million miles which separate the Earth and moon.
Scientists recently investigated a mysterious cigar-shaped asteroid which entered our solar system to see if it’s an alien probe.
MORE: Eerie skull-shaped ‘Halloween Death Asteroid’ will return to Earth this year
