AN asteroid that threatens to blast Earth with fiery debris will skim past our planet this weekend.<\/p>\n
The space rock is the size of a blue whale and will zip past at 14,000 miles per hour during its nerve-shredding flyby, according to Nasa.<\/p>\n
The US space agency has dubbed the asteroid \"2019 YB4\" and says it will pass at around 10:30am GMT on Saturday.<\/p>\n
It's classed as a \"near-Earth object\" (NEO) by Nasa, tens of thousands of which are tracked by scientists to ensure they don't collide with our planet.<\/p>\n
Just a small change to YB4's trajectory would be enough to send it crashing into us, though at 86ft long it's not large enough to reach Earth's surface.<\/p>\n
Instead, the rock would likely explode with the force of 30 nuclear bombs as it hit our atmosphere, reports IBTimes.<\/p>\n
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While most of the force would be absorbed by the heavens, debris would likely shower from the sky following the blast.<\/p>\n
A similarly-sized asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 reportedly shattered windows and injured 1,500 people.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, YB4 is expected to soar past Earth from a safe distance during its upcoming approach.<\/p>\n
According to Nasa, the asteroid will pass within 780,000 miles of our planet about three times the distance from Earth to the Moon.<\/p>\n
Astronomers are currently tracking nearly 2,000 asteroids, comets and other objects that threaten our pale blue dot, and new ones are found every day.<\/p>\n
Earth hasn't seen an asteroid of apocalyptic scale since the space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs 66million years ago.<\/p>\n
However, smaller objects still capable of flattening an entire city crash into Earth every so often.<\/p>\n
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?<\/p>\n
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One a few hundred metres across that devastated 800 square miles of forest neat Tunguska in Siberia on June 30, 1908.<\/p>\n
Luckily, Nasa doesn't believe any of the NEOs it keeps an eye on are on a collision course with our planet.<\/p>\n
However, that could change in the coming months or years as the space agency constantly revises objects' predicted trajectories.<\/p>\n
\"Nasa knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small,\" Nasa says.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.\"<\/p>\n
Even if they were to hit our planet, the vast majority of asteroids would not wipe out life as we know it.<\/p>\n
\"Global catastrophes\" are only triggered when objects larger than 3,000 feet smash into Earth, according to Nasa.<\/p>\n
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In other news, it recently emerged that an asteroid obliterated early human civilisations ina catastrophic collision with Earth 13,000 years ago.<\/p>\n
Scientists recently discovered a \"Super-Earth\" 31 light-years away thathumans could one day colonise.<\/p>\n
And, distant planets may host even more life than we have here on Earth,according to one shock study.<\/p>\n
Are you worried about an asteroid strike? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more here: <\/p>\n Asteroid that could cause violent sky explosion as powerful as 30 nukes approaching Earth tomorrow, Nasa war - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AN asteroid that threatens to blast Earth with fiery debris will skim past our planet this weekend. Continue reading