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A Meteor glowing as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
Massive asteroid will swing by Earth after Valentine's Day
Not long after Valentine's Day ends, a massive asteroid estimated to be between 1,443 feet and 3,248 feet long will pass by Earth around 6:05 a.m. ET on Saturday. Based on the size range, it could be anywhere between the size of a suspension bridge to taller than a skyscraper.
But the experts at NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies say we're in no danger.
The asteroid will pass within 3,590,000 miles of Earth. That's 15 times the distance from Earth to the moon, according to NASA.
The asteroid, known as 2002 PZ39, has been tracked since its discovery in August 2002 and its orbit and trajectory are well known. Observations of this particular passing began by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on February 11 and will continue through February 17.
The Minor Planet Center has classified 2002 PZ39 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid," according to NASA. That's true of any object larger than 492 feet that approaches Earth within 4.6 million miles. But based on the asteroid's trajectory, it shouldn't come any closer than expected.
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