The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has said that a huge asteroid will be passing by Earth at a distance of 6.2 million km on 29 April. The space agency has named it Asteroid 1998 OR2.
Asteroid 1998 OR2 is supposed to fly-by earth on 29 April. Image credit: NASA asteroid watch
According to Space.com, the asteroid poses no threat to Earth. The website last week reported that the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico captured a radar image of the asteroid 1998 OR2. The observatory is the location of the world's second-largest single-dish radio telescope.
Asteroid 1998 OR2 will safely pass by Earth at a distance of 3.9 million miles/6.2 million km on April 29. Astronomers studying the #asteroid with radar are also keeping a safe distance—from each other! Just another day for #planetarydefense https://t.co/32BSc0TkPM
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) April 20, 2020
According to the scientists, the asteroid has no chance of making contact with Earth, since the asteroid will fly by the blue planet at a distance of 6.2 million kilometres. The Earth’s natural satellite (moon) orbits it at an average distance of about 3,85,000 km.
"There are no asteroids which have any significant chance of hitting the Earth that are of any significant size," reported Space.com quoting Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The asteroid is expected to be 1.8 to 4.1 kilometres wide.
NASA took to Facebook to post about the asteroid, stating that even though it poses no threat to the planet, scientists can "still learn a lot by studying it."