An asteroid the size of a house will pass very near the Earth today, scientists have warned.
But of course, that is very close in space terms - they insist there is no risk of actually hitting our planet.
The asteroid 2012 TC4 will pass just 59,000 miles - about a quarter of the distance to the moon - when it makes its closest point today, Fox News reported.
The asteroid was discovered by astronomers on October 4 and is around 56 feet across.
'Small asteroid 2012 TC4 will safely
pass Earth Oct 12 at just .25 the distance to our moon's orbit,'
scientists with NASA's Asteroid Watch programme wrote in a Twitter
update this week.
On average, the moon's orbit is about 238,000 miles.
The asteroid is large enough to be seen by amateur astronomers using a small telescope,the website Spaceweather.com claimed.
Near-Earth flybys of small asteroids such as 2012 TC4 pass inside the orbit of the moon fairly often, Asteroid Watch scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California told Fox.
On Sunday the 100ft asteroid 2012 TV also passed inside the moon's orbit, missing Earth by about 158,000 miles (255,000 kilometers).
NASA scientists and astronomers regularly watch the skies for potentially dangerous asteroids that could pose an impact threat to Earth.
A group of asteroid hunters had, coincidentally, announced on Thursday that it is on track for a 2017 launch of a private space telescope dedicated to seeking out potentially dangerous space rocks.
Officials with the B16 Foundation said their plan to launch the Sentinel Space Telescope to scan for near-Earth asteroids has passed a major review milestone.
The new space telescope is designed to search for asteroids from an observation spot near the orbit of Venus.
In September 2011, NASA announced that its surveys had found about 90 per cent of the largest asteroids that could post a threat – space rocks the size of a mountain or bigger.
Asteroid 2012 TC4 is too small to pose a risk to Earth. Past estimates by astronomers said that an asteroid about 460 feet wide (140 meters) would cause widespread damage on the planet.
But of course, that is very close in space terms - they insist there is no risk of actually hitting our planet.
The asteroid 2012 TC4 will pass just 59,000 miles - about a quarter of the distance to the moon - when it makes its closest point today, Fox News reported.
The asteroid was discovered by astronomers on October 4 and is around 56 feet across.
Flyby: The asteroid passed with 59,000 miles of the Earth's surface
On average, the moon's orbit is about 238,000 miles.
The asteroid is large enough to be seen by amateur astronomers using a small telescope,the website Spaceweather.com claimed.
Near-Earth flybys of small asteroids such as 2012 TC4 pass inside the orbit of the moon fairly often, Asteroid Watch scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California told Fox.
On Sunday the 100ft asteroid 2012 TV also passed inside the moon's orbit, missing Earth by about 158,000 miles (255,000 kilometers).
NASA scientists and astronomers regularly watch the skies for potentially dangerous asteroids that could pose an impact threat to Earth.
A group of asteroid hunters had, coincidentally, announced on Thursday that it is on track for a 2017 launch of a private space telescope dedicated to seeking out potentially dangerous space rocks.
Officials with the B16 Foundation said their plan to launch the Sentinel Space Telescope to scan for near-Earth asteroids has passed a major review milestone.
The new space telescope is designed to search for asteroids from an observation spot near the orbit of Venus.
In September 2011, NASA announced that its surveys had found about 90 per cent of the largest asteroids that could post a threat – space rocks the size of a mountain or bigger.
Asteroid 2012 TC4 is too small to pose a risk to Earth. Past estimates by astronomers said that an asteroid about 460 feet wide (140 meters) would cause widespread damage on the planet.
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