NASA asteroid WARNING: Asteroid discovered last week barreling for Earth approach TODAY

NASA expects the asteroid, dubbed Asteroid 2019 BB5, to dash past the Earth today on a so-called “Earth Close Approach”. The space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has narrowed the flyby down to 10.18am GMT (Thursday, February 8). The shock asteroid news comes just one week after JPL astronomers first observed the space rock barreling towards Earth. NASA first spotted Asteroid BB5 on the night of January 30 and last tracked it on Monday, February 4.

Today, the asteroid will swing past the planet at breakneck speeds of more than 14,270mph or 6.38km per second.

As this happens, the asteroid will reach its closest possible distance to the Earth.

But there is nothing to worry about because even at its closest, Asteroid BB5 will near-miss our planet by some 2.6 million miles (4.25 million km).

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) like BB5 frequently dash past the Earth on their journey around the Sun but rarely do they strike our world.

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NASA explained: “As they orbit the Sun, Near-Earth Objects can occasionally approach close to Earth.

“Note that a ‘close’ passage astronomically can be very far away in human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometres.”

According to the JPL, Asteroid BB5 measures somewhere in the range of 39ft to 91.8ft (12m to 28m).

In other words, the asteroid could be up to 14-times longer than a Queen Size bed seven-times as long as a Volkswagen Beetle car.

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If the asteroid proves to fall somewhere at the lower end of the estimate, the asteroid is still about 1.4-times the length of a London double-decker bus.

Asteroids of this size are some of the most populous throughout the solar system and are also some of the most unpredictable.

There are currently some 791,515 known asteroids and 3,562 known comets lurking in the depths of space.

NASA said: “With increasing regularity, scientists are discovering asteroids and comets with unusual orbits, ones that take them close to Earth and the Sun.

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“Very few of these bodies are potential hazards to Earth, but the more we know and understand about them, the better prepared we will be to take appropriate measures if one is heading our way.

“Knowing the size, shape, mass, composition and structure of these objects will help determine the best way to divert a space rock found to be on an Earth-threatening path.”

Asteroid BB5 will safely swing by the Earth today but this will not be the last we hear from the space rock.

Based on NASA’s orbital calculations, BB5 will swing by Venus in July 2021 and re-visit Earth in November 2021.

After that, NASA expects recurring close approaches until at least December 2182.

source: express.co.uk