Closest Asteroid Ever Just Missing Earth Tonight

Close Encounter

Remember when NASA landed that rocket on an asteroid? It was to test our defense capabilities if one was ever going to hit earth. Well, thankfully we didn't need that this time around. The closest asteroid ever recorded to come near Earth is just missing us tonight.

An amateur astronomer in Crimea is now two-for-two in discovering wild celestial events. Gennady Borisov is the same guy that first spotted the interstellar comet that's currently visible in the night sky.

But this asteroid, the size of a delivery truck, is set to come within 3,600 kilometres of Earth over the southern tip of South America. The closest approach will happen at 7:27 pm ET tonight!

NASA has had to reassure citizens that the asteroid is going to miss us, because some people online are afraid an impact is imminent. It IS a bit alarming that this asteroid was only discovered on Saturday. What happens when a big one that is on a collision course with Earth is discovered with just a few days notice?

In Other News...

It's a big week for our planet! You may also have heard that our solid metal core has stopped spinning & may have reversed itself! Well, that is just a cool thing that has happened in the past, but some doomsday-ers are convinced it means the Earth is going to stop spinning or start going backwards. That's not the case. It just means days may be milliseconds shorter until it starts back up again.