Matt MorenoA "potentially hazardous" asteroid is hurdling toward Earth late Monday.
But don't go heading for your emergency spaceships just yet. Scientists say there's no chance of it hitting our planet. It's just going to make an uncomfortably close sweep. (Via NASA)
"This asteroid, which is named 2000 EM26, will be the length from us, here on the planet, to our moon multiplied by nine. So that's about two-million miles. Not a threat to humanity." (Via Fox News)
That's not very close this time, but asteroids have a habit of coming around again in a few years time. So why are we just learning about this one now?
B Well, there are millions and millions of them, meaning they're pretty tough to keep track of. In a statement, technical and research director of the Slooh telescope service, Paul Cox, said, "We continue to discover these potentially hazardous asteroids — sometimes only days before they make their close approaches to Earth." (Via Space.com)
This latest fly-by comes just over a year after a meteorite unexpectedly exploded in the skies over Russia. The blast from the 65-foot asteroid injured an estimated 1,500 people and caused millions of dollars in damage. (Via RT)
A live webcast of Monday's asteroid will be featured on Slooh.com.
