Skyscraper-size asteroid expected to pass by Earth Friday
New video shows DART asteroid impact from Hubble space telescope
A video NASA released on Wednesday shows the debris caused by the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission spacecraft slamming into the asteroid Dimorphos. (Courtesy: NASA / ESA / STScI / Jian-Yang Li (PSI) / Joseph DePasquale (STScI))
An asteroid as big as a skyscraper will pass within 1.7 million miles of Earth on Friday.
But don’t worry: There’s no risk of it hitting our planet since it will pass seven times the distance from Earth to the moon.
According to the Virtual Telescope Project, the "potentially hazardous" asteroid 2008 OS7 will have a close and safe encounter, passing within about 1.7 million miles from Earth.
The asteroid, which was discovered in 2008 by the Catalina Sky Survey, is estimated to be 690 - 1,575 feet in diameter. This means the asteroid could be similar in size to New York City’s Empire State Building or Chicago’s Willis Tower.
Artist rendering of an asteroid being driven through space by a propulsion system as part of the proposed Project RAMA, created on May 30, 2016. (Credit: Adrian Mann/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The Virtual Telescope Project said it will show the asteroid live, online, soon after its fly-by with Earth.
"This way, you can have a look from the comfort of your home," the space organization said. The live feed will start on Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. EST.
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But this harmless encounter is just one of several this week. Three much smaller asteroids also will harmlessly pass by Earth on Friday, no more than tens of yards across, with another two on Saturday. On Sunday, an asteroid roughly half the size of 2008 0S7 will swing by, staying 4.5 million miles away.
The Associated Press contributed.