Space rocks keep flying past the Earth every now and then. But an enormous one, nearly half the size of Mt. Everest is in close approach of our planet next month. Asteroid 1998 OR2 will skim past the Earth on April 29th and if you are very interested in these space debris, then you can have a look at it too. And no there no need to worry about a collision or adverse effects of this asteroid on our planet. Will The 4-km Asteroid 1998 OR2 Hit The Earth And Cause Doomsday? NASA Clarifies There is No Need to Worry.

Although 1998 OR2 passes by the Earth at 3.9 million miles, it is still considered as a "near-Earth object" (NEO) by NASA. According to NASA, it falls under the potentially hazardous category as they consider anything reasonably coming within about 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of Earth as such. This asteroid is roughly 1.8 and 4.1 kilometres in diameter. At the higher estimate, it could be about half the size of Mount Everest and taller than Mount Fuji of Japan. On April 29, 2020, this space rock will pass the Earth at 09:56 GMT which is around 3:26 PM IST. God of Chaos Asteroid Could Cause Doomsday by 2029! Here’s All the Potentially Hazardous ‘Threats’ of 2019 Which Earth Missed Narrowly.

Here's How You Can Watch It

If you have a telescope, then you can see the asteroid while it skims past the earth. For those who don't have access to such apparatus, the Virtual Telescope Project in Rome will host a free public viewing of the asteroid. So people can enjoy the live streaming of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2 here.

NASA identifies almost 30 such space rocks (near-Earth objects) that make flybys around our planet every week. These are large rocks that orbit around the sun. But due to the gravitational pull, their course can change and collide with other debris in space. Although there is no direct risk from asteroid 1998 OR2.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 12, 2020 01:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).