The space rock 2019 QY5 was discovered just two days ago and is hurtling towards Earth for the first time ever. However, the rock will reportedly pass by Earth safely later on today.
A recent report from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) categorises the celestial body as a near-Earth object (NEO).
The objects are either comets or asteroids that orbit between 91 million and 121 million miles from the sun, according to NASA.
NEOs can venture as far as 30 million miles from the Earth’s orbit.
They can go as close to Earth’s surface as a few times the distance of the moon – or closer.
After analysing the asteroid, JPL classified the rock as an Amor-type asteroid.
Unlike Apollo and Aten asteroids, Amor asteroids follow an orbital path that allows them to safely approach Earth without crossing into the planet’s orbit.
NASA also explained that Aten and Apollo asteroids can actually cross the Earth’s orbit as they circle the sun.
According to NASA’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid could be 59 foot in diameter and more than 134 foot across.
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The asteroid will pass by Earth at a distance of 2.5 million miles which is 10.73 times the distance of the moon.
Previously, the rock passed by Jupiter nearly a century ago.
The object will pass by Jupiter again in 2098 and then return for a second visit to Earth in 2112.
NASA estimates that at least 95 percent of asteroids one kilometre (3,280 feet) or larger have been cataloged, with none posing a threat to Earth.
The more realistic danger comes from space rocks the size of 2006 QQ23, which could flatten an entire city, killing millions and causing widespread destruction in the event of a direct hit.
Experts believe the key to avoiding a scenario is to go beyond planet killers and find all the asteroids that could hit the earth.
Space group B612’s President Danica Remy claimed the risk to Earth from asteroids is very small in the short-term but inevitable in the long-term.
Speaking to NBC she said she was 100 percent convinced of a future collision. She said: “It’s 100 percent certain that we’re going to get hit, but we’re not 100 percent certain when.”
She continued: “The kind of devastation that we’d be looking at is more of at a regional level than a planetary level, but it’s still going to have global impact — on transportation, networking, climate, weather.”
NASA is now mounting a mission to test a system for deflecting asteroids.