A mile-long asteroid is set to pass by Earth tomorrow, but no need to worry, says NASA. The space agency said in a statement
“Asteroid 1998 OR2 poses no threat to our planet, but we can still learn a lot by studying it.”
Near-earth objects are defined as objects that pass by our planet within 30 million miles, while NASA pays closer watch to objects that could pass within 5 million miles of Earth, like this asteroid, to study them and predict their trajectory into the future.
According to Space.com, “the asteroid is currently too faint to see with most backyard telescopes, but it has been visible in larger telescopes for a while,” and may be viewed in smaller telescopes during its approach. For those without their own telescope at home, a live stream of the asteroid’s approach can be viewed at Virtual Telescope Project.