'Halloween' asteroid set to fly by Earth on Oct 31
A giant asteroid is set to fly by Earth on this year's Halloween. According to NASA, the proximity of the asteroid from Earth will be less than any other asteroid which has flown past the planet since July 2006.
The asteroid, called 2015 TB145, was recently spotted by NASA's Pan-STARRS I survey. The American space research team expects the asteroid to fly by Earth at a distance of 499,000km and with a speed of 78,000mph.
"The asteroid is on an extremely eccentric and a high inclination orbit," said a NASA statement. "This is the closest approach by a known object this large until 1999 AN10 approaches within 1 lunar distance in August 2027."
Due to its size and proximity, NASA describes the 2015 TB145 as potentially “hazardous,” although they are sure that it poses no danger and will not hit Earth.
2015 TB145 won't be visible from the naked eye, but anyone with a decent telescope will be able to easily spot the giant asteroid. The Tech Times reports that the asteroid will move across the constellation Orion on the night of Oct. 30 into Halloween.
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