An asteroid that was only just discovered on Oct. 10 is set to whiz past Earth on Halloween, marking the closest encounter our planet has had with one of the massive speeding rocks since 2006, according to NASA.
Coming within 1.3 lunar distances -- that's 310,000 miles -- the asteroid, called 2015 TB145, will brush past Earth but presents no threat to humans, NASAscientists said, noting the asteroid has an estimated diameter of between 525 feet and 2,000 feet.
Described as having an "extremely eccentric" orbit and appearing "cometary in nature," NASA said this asteroid is incredibly fast and predicts it will zoom past Earth at 78,000 miles per hour.
"The flyby presents a truly outstanding scientific opportunity to study the physical properties of this object," NASA officials wrote. It's worth noting this asteroid was only discovered days ago, but its next close encounter with Earth is expected to happen in a dozen years from now, in August 2027.
Coming within 1.3 lunar distances -- that's 310,000 miles -- the asteroid, called 2015 TB145, will brush past Earth but presents no threat to humans, NASAscientists said, noting the asteroid has an estimated diameter of between 525 feet and 2,000 feet.
Described as having an "extremely eccentric" orbit and appearing "cometary in nature," NASA said this asteroid is incredibly fast and predicts it will zoom past Earth at 78,000 miles per hour.
"The flyby presents a truly outstanding scientific opportunity to study the physical properties of this object," NASA officials wrote. It's worth noting this asteroid was only discovered days ago, but its next close encounter with Earth is expected to happen in a dozen years from now, in August 2027.
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