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A potentially hazardous asteroid the size of a skyscraper will zoom along safely past Earth on Sunday ( June 11 ) , coming within about 1.9 million mile ( 3.1 million kilometers ) of our major planet — about eight multiplication the average distance between Earth and the moon , according toNASA .
Dubbed 1994 XD , the asteroid is gauge to evaluate between 1,200 and 2,700 feet ( 370 to 830 meters ) in diameter , progress to it potentially about as large as Dubai ’s Burj Khalifa , the tallest building on Earth . early observance show that the rock is a binary asteroid , composed of a big asteroid with a small " moonlet " orbit it .
If you ’d wish to witness the meaty space rock ’s close approach yourself , you’re able to watch over a livestream courtesy of theVirtual Telescope Project , which will broadcast the asteroid flyby on Sunday beginning around 8:50 p.m. EDT .
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Even though the roving quad rock will omit our planet , NASAstill classify it as apotentially risky asteroid , given its size of it and relative proximity to Earth . Any object larger than 460 feet ( 140 m ) in diam that orbits within 4.65 million miles ( 7.48 million km ) of Earth , or close to 20 time the average length between Earth and the moon , is consider potentially wild , as an unexpected pinch to such an target ’s reach could send it on a collision row with our planet .
Currently , no known objects of this order of magnitude are at risk of infection of hitting our planet forat least the next 1,000 years , a late study retrieve .
However , in case a large place rock were to pose a direct menace to our planet , NASA and other quad agency are working on methods to thwart it . In 2022 , NASA complete its Double Asteroid Redirection Test missionary work , whichintentionally smashed a arugula into an asteroidto alter the space sway ’s orbital swiftness . The mission did not destroy the asteroid outright , but it did prove that head - on rocket attack are able of change a space rock ’s orbital parameters in significant ways — making missions like this a feasible method of planetary defense , NASA read .
