Massive asteroid to shoot past Earth tonight in 'close approach'

A massive asteroid is set to shoot past the Earth tonight in a "close approach". But this isn't just any asteroid, it's 1.2 miles (2km) wide and looks like it's wearing a facemask. How morbidly appropriate.

The asteroid was first discovered by NASA scientists in 1998, and they've been keeping a close eye on (52768) 1998 OR2 - seriously, that's the rock's name - for the past twenty-two years.

NASA astronauts recently shared their workouts in space to help those in isolation: 

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Now, the asteroid is set to come into its closest contact with the Earth. But don't worry, it will be 3.9 million miles away. To put this into context, that's 16 times further than the distance of the moon.

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While 3.9 million miles away might seem like a giant distance, when you bear in mind how big space is, the equivalent of 148,855 marathons is actually not that far.

However, it's worth noting that the asteroid doesn't pose any threat to the Earth, but that doesn't mean that scientists won't continue to monitor its progress in case it comes any closer in the future.

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In a press release, Dr. Anne Virkki, head of planetary radar at the observatory, said: "The small-scale topographic features such as hills and ridges on one end of asteroid 1998 OR2 are fascinating scientifically.

"But since we are all thinking about [the virus] these features make it look like 1998 OR2 remembered to wear a mask."

Flaviane Venditti, a research scientist at The Arecibo Observatory, explained: "The radar measurements allow us to know more precisely where the asteroid will be in the future, including its future close approaches to Earth.

"In 2079, asteroid 1998 OR2 will pass Earth about 3.5 times closer than it will this year, so it is important to know its orbit precisely.

Although this asteroid is not projected to impact Earth, it is important to understand the characteristics of these types of objects to improve impact-risk mitigation technologies."

Yeah, I think we can all agree that it's best the asteroid floats by at a safe distance. We've got enough trouble in 2020 already.