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A huge asteroid that may measure up to 460 feet in diameter is set to soar near the Earth on Thursday.
The asteroid, named 2015 RN35, will pass our planet at a distance of about 426,000 miles and will be traveling at speeds of 5.91 kilometers per second, or around 13,220 miles per hour, as shown by close approach data from NASA's Near Earth Observatory.
While this may sound exceptionally far away, in astronomical terms the asteroid is coming fairly closer to Earth. The moon orbits us at a distance of 238,900 miles, while our nearest planetary neighbor, Venus, is currently 153.6 million miles away from Earth.
Most asteroids range in diameter from around 30 feet to up to hundreds of miles. The largest asteroid in our solar system is Ceres, which has a diameter of 587.82 miles. According to estimates, 2015 RN35 is between 206 and 460 feet across, which makes it roughly the same size as a baseball field.
www.newsweek.com
The asteroid, named 2015 RN35, will pass our planet at a distance of about 426,000 miles and will be traveling at speeds of 5.91 kilometers per second, or around 13,220 miles per hour, as shown by close approach data from NASA's Near Earth Observatory.
While this may sound exceptionally far away, in astronomical terms the asteroid is coming fairly closer to Earth. The moon orbits us at a distance of 238,900 miles, while our nearest planetary neighbor, Venus, is currently 153.6 million miles away from Earth.
Most asteroids range in diameter from around 30 feet to up to hundreds of miles. The largest asteroid in our solar system is Ceres, which has a diameter of 587.82 miles. According to estimates, 2015 RN35 is between 206 and 460 feet across, which makes it roughly the same size as a baseball field.
Asteroid the size of a baseball field set for close encounter with Earth
The asteroid, named 2015 RN35, will be traveling at speeds of 13,220 miles per hour as it flies past our planet.
www.newsweek.com
