An asteroid potentially the size of the Eiffel Tower is set to blast past Earth tonight with stargazers keen to catch a glimpse of it lighting up the night sky.
While it will be 7.2 million kilometres away from our planet – nearly 19 times the distance between Earth and the moon – when it passes, the 2021 KT asteroid is large enough that those with a decent telescope should be able to get a look when it passes at 12.24am AEST.
NASA estimates 2021 KT is between 150 and 330 metres in diameter and will shoot past at a speed of 64,000km/h.
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While it will be a safe distance from Earth, NASA still warns 2021 KT is a "potentially hazardous asteroid" (PHA), according to Newsweek.
This classification is based on the asteroid's size and distance to the Earth.
Any asteroid closer than 7.48 million kilometres or larger than 152 metres in diameter falls under this category.
NASA currently tracks roughly 26,000 near-Earth asteroids and 1000 of these are believed to be potentially bigger than one kilometre across, says Newsweek.
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While the Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) says the threat from a car crash, disease or natural disaster is more likely than being killed by an asteroid, the chances of Earth being hit are not impossible.
In that case, scientists would attempt to deflect the asteroid away from the Earth using the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – technology which is expected to be demonstrated later this year.
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