A massive asteroid named 1998 QE2 will pass near earth, and by near - I mean 6 million kms (3.75 million miles). The asteroid is about 2.7 kms in diameter (or nine Queen Elizabeth 2 ship-lengths), 1998 QE2 will make its latest approach to earth at 1:59 Pacific Daylight Time (4:59 EDT) today.

NASA is streaming live video of the event, and UCLA planetary astronomer Jean-Luc Margot indicated that “We will secure mass and density estimates for both [asteroidal] components, which will provide clues as to their internal structure and composition,” and also “Radar observations have shown that one-sixth of Near-earth Asteroids (NEAs) are made of two or more components dancing around each other. The Goldstone and Arecibo observations will provide a spectacular data set.”

“It’s been coming from south to north in the sky,” said Michael Busch, a planetary astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, New Mexico. “As seen from the Northern hemisphere, it’s moving upwards in the sky. It’s been being observed from Australia for the last several weeks with optical telescopes.”





“As we discover more NEAs, the number of reported close approaches has gone up,” said Busch. “But that’s just because we’re doing a better job of [finding] what’s flying by.”

Per NASA, as of May 21, 2013, 9953 Near-Earth objects have been discovered. Some 860 of these NEOs are asteroids with a diameter of approximately 1 kilometer or larger. Also, 1401 of these NEOs have been classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs).