An asteroid the size of the Eiffel Tower in Paris will pass by Earth in December.
Deseret News reports, this space rock is called 4660 Nereus or 1982 DB. Its appearance gives scientists the opportunity to discover one more asteroid.
The egg-shaped asteroid 4660 Nereus is about the same size as the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It is heading towards us, expected to pass by Earth on December 11. This asteroid will be about 3.9 million km from Earth.
To make it easier to imagine, according to The Jerusalem Post, the Earth and the Moon are about 385,000km apart. Thus the asteroid will be 10 times farther from Earth than the Moon.
However, this distance is still enough for scientists to have a chance to explore this moving space rock. There is currently no activity planned for asteroid 4660 Nereus, but it is likely to be considered before the asteroid’s transit of Earth. Astronomers say that 4660 Nereus is unlikely to hit our planet.
Massive asteroids tend to pass by Earth. In March 2021, an asteroid close to the size of the Golden Gate Bridge passed by Earth, CBS News reported. It is the largest and fastest asteroid to pass Earth in 2021.
