Of the eight times such a massive asteroid has passed the Earth in the past century, this was the closest it has come.
The asteroid passed within 2.8 million miles — a tiny distance in astronomical terms.
PHOTO: MIRROR
It is fairly common for small meteorites to pass close by; however,
one of this size poses a very real threat. Any impact would result in
drastic climatic changes, causing earthquakes and tsunamis too.Bill Napier, professor of astronomy at the University of Buckinghamshire, said there is a “very real risk” of a comet or damaging
asteroid hitting Earth.
“With something like YB35, we are looking at a scale of global destruction, something that would pose a risk to the continuation of the planet. ”These events are, however, very rare; it is the smaller yet still very damaging impacts which are a very real threat,” he added.
Experts warn it is not long until an asteroid capable of “life-altering” damage strikes our planet.
PHOTO: EXPRESS
The Catalina Sky Survey initially spotted 2014-YB35 at the end of
last year with astronomers reported to be closely examining its progress
this week.If it had hit Earth, plumes of debris would have been thrown into the atmosphere, changing the climate and potentially making the planet inhabitable for all life.
The least plausible damage would have been the destruction of cities.
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