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Look Out: Huge Asteroid to Pass Earth on May 31

The good news is that the asteroid, which was discovered 15 years ago, will get “no closer than about 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers), or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon,” according to NASA.
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This image shows the orbit of asteroid 1998 QE2 which will be making a flyby on May 31 at 1:59 p.m. Pacific (4:59 p.m. Eastern / 20:59 UTC). If the 1.7 mile space rock were to make impact, we would almost certainly be doomed. The good news is that the asteroid, which was discovered 15 years ago, will get “no closer than about 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers), or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon,” according to NASA.


Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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