An asteroid measuring at least a mile across is set to pass by the Earth next month, according to NASA scientists. The asteroid, estimated to be between 1.1 and 2.5 miles wide will pass around four million miles from Earth, travelling at just under 20,000 miles per hour. Experts predict it will fly by on April 29 2020.
Named 52768 (1998 OR2), the asteroid was first picked up by scientists in 1997 and scientists then described it as "large enough to cause global effects" if it impacted our planet. After next month's pass, the asteroid is set to come quite close to the Earth again - 11 million miles away - in May 2031, and again in May 2042, before coming relatively close to Jupiter in 2058, according to NASA's asteroid monitoring service.
Earlier this month, astronomers discovered a "mini-moon”, which has been in Earth's orbit for the past three years. At this stage, it is unclear whether the object is 'natural', or a piece of space debris, according to the researchers at the Gemini Observatory in the US who discovered it. If it's 'natural' - an asteroid, for example - the object is only the second of its kind that scientists have spotted, other than the moon. The last 'natural' object in the Earth's orbit was discovered in 2006 and has since moved away.
The last collision with the Earth took place in 2013 near Chelyabinsk, in Russia. Around 1,500 people reportedly sought medical attention in the aftermath, mostly for cuts from shattered glass. The largest asteroid to come close to the Earth was between 2.5 and 5.5 miles wide. Named 3122 Florence, it missed the planet by about 4.4 million miles in 2017.
