Massive asteroid to whiz by EarthIt’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s a “potentially hazardous asteroid” hurtling our way!
The whizzing planetoid — called 2014 YB35 — could cause a cataclysm on our planet, but Earthlings are being told not to worry.
The rogue rock will miss Earth on Friday by a comfortable distance — 11.7 times farther than the distance between the planet and the moon, the Daily Mail reported.
But experts say the relatively close call is a stark reminder that there are plenty of dangerous heavenly bodies in our vicinity.
There are about 25,000 near-Earth objects larger than 460 feet wide that come close to Earth.
The YB35 asteroid, estimated to be about 1,640 feet wide, would cause widespread devastation if it hit the planet.
A football-size rock hits Earth, on average, every 5,000 years, experts say. An asteroid capable of ending civilization hits every million years, according to NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program.
YB35, which is traveling at 23,000 mph, will make its closest approach on Friday — a safe 2,779,956 miles away.
The asteroid, which was discovered in 2014 by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona, will visit again in 2033, when it will come even closer — a still-safe 2,069,166 miles.
But an astronomer warns that there is a “very real risk” of an object striking Earth at some point.
“With something like YB35, we are looking at a scale of global destruction, something that would pose a risk to the continuation of the planet,” said Bill Napier, professor of astronomy at the University of Buckinghamshire, the Express reported.
“These events are, however, very rare. It is the smaller yet still very damaging impacts which are a very real threat,” he added.
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