Asteroid makes close pass by Earth

Mar 6, 2014 8:19 AM PHT

Agence France-Presse

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Coined 2014 DX110, the asteroid became part of a rare class of objects that comes nearer to Earth than the moon

CLOSE SHAVE. This image shows the relative locations of asteroid 2014 DX110 and Earth on March 4, 2014. Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

WASHINGTON DC, USA – An asteroid the size of a football field made a close pass by Earth, NASA said Wednesday, March 5.

Coined 2014 DX110, the asteroid became part of a rare class of objects that comes nearer to Earth than the moon, shaving by at around 2100 GMT (4 am Manila time), the space agency said.

“As happens about 20 times a year with current detection capabilities, a known asteroid will safely pass Earth Wednesday closer than the distance from Earth to the moon,” NASA said on its website.

Its closest approach to Earth will be at about 217,000 miles (about 350,000 kilometers), a bit closer than the average lunar distance of 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers).

The asteroid is believed to be about 100 feet across, or 30 meters.

NASA discovered it as part of its asteroid tracking efforts, called the Near-Earth Object Observations Program. – Rappler.com