A massive asteroid believed to measure 280ftin diameter is set to fly past Earth this afternoon at a dizzying speed of 30,422 miles per hour. The asteroid, dubbed 2013 MD8, is expected to skim past Earth at just over 3 million miles away, or about 13 times the distance between Earth and the moon, at 12:55pm (ET) on Tuesday. The huge space rock is expected to make a 'close approach' to Earth, but its trajectory should see it soar safely by. Asteroid MD8 falls under the category of a 'near-earth object' (NEO), which NASA describes as all asteroids and comets that orbit within 30 million miles of Earth. The massive asteroid, dubbed 2013 MD8, will soar past Earth at a dizzying speed of 30,422 miles per hour.

Source: Daily Mail February 18, 2019 22:30 UTC