A rock of Gibraltar-sized asteroid will streak past Earth on April 19 at a safe but uncomfortably close distance, according to NASA scientists, reported AFP.
According to NASA, the gigantic boulder called named 2014-J25 is roughly 650 metres (2,000 feet) across, and comes within 1.1 million miles of Earth, less than five times the distance of the Earth from the Moon.
It will pass closest to our planet after having looped around the Sun and will continue on past Jupiter before heading back toward the centre of our Solar System.
“Astronomers plan to observe it with telescopes around the world to learn as much about it as possible,” the US space agency said.
Besides its size and trajectory, scientists also know that its surface is twice as reflective as that of the Moon.
2014-J25 was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona.
Asteroids are composed of rocky and metallic material, whereas comets — generally smaller — are more typically made of ice, dust and rocky stuff.
