Asteroid, bigger than Empire State Building, heading towards Earth

Washington (US) – National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have warned that a 1,600-feet asteroid will pass by the earth in the early hours of 16th May. Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) will be closest to earth at 2:48 a.m. The asteroid, is bigger than most buildings on the planet, including New York’s iconic Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty as well as Paris’s Eiffel Tower.

Empire State Building

The huge asteroid will pass from a distance of about 2.5 million miles away, which has made the space agency flag it off as a “close approach.” A space rock of this size can cause huge damage if it ever hits the planet.

Credits : LAB 360

If one of the space rocks comes within 4.65 million miles of the Earth’s orbit and is over about 500 feet across, it’s flagged off as “potentially hazardous” by space agencies. Many of them, including NASA, have made contingency plans to protect the planet from any potential collision.

The Tunguska explosion on June 30, 1908, was the largest asteroid impact in recorded history. It flattened 830 square miles (2150 sq km) of Siberian forest. According to Space.com, smaller asteroids that are believed to strike the planet every 1,000 to 10,000 years can lead to devastating tsunamis or destroy a city. Asteroids smaller than 25 m will most likely burn up as they enter the planet’s atmosphere.