Giant Asteroid To Pass Earth In Time For Halloween

Don't Panic But There's A Giant Asteroid Passing Earth On Halloween

A giant asteroid, recently discovered by NASA, will pass earth on October 31 at quite a close distance.

According to the space agency, the asteroid's trajectory means it will swing by earth at 1.3 lunar distances, which is approximately 310,000 miles.

This is expected to be the biggest asteroid to approach earth at such a close distance until 2027.

However, NASA have said the encounter will be a safe one so there is no need to panic.

The asteroid, dubbed 2015 TB145, was spotted on October 10 by the Pan-STARRS I telescope in Hawaii.

Keen astronomers who want to catch a glimpse of the space rock should be able to view it through a telescope as it comes to its closet approach at approximately 4pm on October 31.

If you do happen to see the rock, you should know that it will be travelling at a speed of 126,000 miles despite seeming to be quite slow-moving.

While 2015 TB145's trajectory is a safe one, NASA’s Near-Earth Object program does make a point of studying objects such as comets and asteroid that enter the "earth's neighbourhood."

If the estimated size of 2015 TB145 is true, it will be bigger than the Chelyabinsk meteor that entered the earth's atmosphere above Russia in February 2013.

The threat of large asteroids entering the earth's atmosphere is being treated seriously by scientists. On June 30, the UK's Science Museum launched Asteroid Day - a new initiative to raise awareness and funding to help protect earth against incoming space rocks.

Brian May, who joined other scientists to increase awareness around the programme, told The Huffington Post UK: "One day it (Asteroid Day) may save the world."

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