NASA has tracked a giant asteroid that could be higher than the US Empire State Building, and on June 6 (Saturday) it will fly near the Earth.
Because of its namesake 163348 (2002 NN4), the space rock is expected to pass past Earth’s orbit this week and will be moving at a speed of 5.2 km a second to 11 200 km an hour.
Its dimensions are expected between 250 and 570 meters (820 ft and 1870 ft). Hence, it could be higher than the Empire State Building (443 m or 1453 ft) and the London Eye (135 m or 443 ft) combined.
The Asteroid was classed by the International Space Agency as an Aten asteroid, a space rock performing a very wide orbit around the Sun.
Scientists do not expect that the asteroid will collide but will hold an observation of the Planet if it happens to enter the atmosphere. The zooming past Earth on Sunday this week is projected to take place at 12:50 pm (IST).