Asteroid to Pass by Earth

The asteroid 2005 YU55 looks like it’s going to make its way past Earth as predicted on Tuesday, around 6:28 p.m., Eastern standard time. NASA has been tracking the 8,000-mile-wide asteroid for six years and predicts that it will pass us at a distance of 201,700 miles—closer than the orbit of the moon. Experts insist there is no need to fear the asteroid, as they are “100 percent confident” it will not collide with Earth. Though the soaring space rock isn’t a threat, it is an opportunity for scientists to study an asteroid at a closer distance than ever before and to start preparing in the event that one may come closer to our planet.