5 Things to Know About the ‘Halloween Asteroid’
While a Halloween asteroid whizzing by Earth sounds spooky, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
An asteroid that was just discovered on Oct. 10 is set to whiz past Earth on Oct. 31 — the closest encounter our planet has had with one of the massive speeding rocks since 2006, according to NASA.
NASA Offers Daily Look at Earth From Space
Here’s what you need to know about the giant rock NASA has nicknamed the “Great Pumpkin.”
Will it hit Earth?
Coming within 1.3 lunar distances — that’s 310,000 miles — the asteroid, called 2015 TB145, will brush past Earth but presents no threat to humans. NASA said this asteroid is incredibly fast and predicts it will zoom past Earth at 78,000 miles per hour.
How big is the asteroid?
It’s estimated to be 1,300 feet wide. For some perspective, that’s about the height of the Empire State Building.
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