Giant ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid will fly safely by Earth in April
Don’t worry. It won’t even come close to hitting us.
By Hanneke WeiteringMarch 20, 2020 | A large and “potentially hazardous” asteroid is poised to fly by Earth next month, but don’t worry — it poses no threat to Earth.
Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2 will make a close approach to Earth on April 29. The hefty space rock has an estimated diameter of 1.1 to 2.5 miles (1.8 to 4.1 kilometers), or about the width of the isle of Manhattan.
While an asteroid that size could wreak havoc if it crashed into Earth — prompting some alarmist and misinformed media reports — this asteroid poses no threat.
