An asteroid the size of five to 10 football fields will zip safely by Earth tonight (Feb. 15).
At its closest approach, asteroid (199145) 2005 YY128 will still be about 2.8 million miles (4.5 million kilometers) from Earth, or 12 times the average distance between Earth and the moon. However, the asteroid poses no threat to our planet.
Scientists aren’t sure exactly how big the asteroid is; estimates range from 1,900 to 4,265 feet (580 to 1,300 meters) in diameter, according to EarthSky.org(opens in new tab). With its median size estimated at about 3,100 feet (944 m) across, the asteroid would be about twice as wide as New York City’s One World Trade Center is tall.
