Will it hit Earth?

Nope! It will pass our planet from a distance of about 310,000 miles, so don't worry...unless the government is just telling us it won't, because they don't want to incite panic. Dun dun DUNNNNN.

How big is the asteroid?

Approximately 1,300 feet wide, or about the height of the Empire State Building.

Can I see it?

Unfortunately it is expected to zip by Earth around 1:05pm, so it won't be visible to the naked eye.

What can NASA learn?

Lance Benner, who leads NASA's asteroid radar research program, said in a NASA blog post:

We plan to test a new capability to obtain radar images with two-meter resolution for the first time and hope to see unprecedented levels of detail...about the object's surface features, shape, dimensions and other physical properties."

When is the next close encounter?

The next time NASA expects an object that size to pass Earth is August 2027. That asteroid - 1999 AN10 - is estimated to be 2,600-feet long and will cruise by our planet at a distance of about 238,000 miles.

 

 

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