The asteroid will approach Earth from the direction of the Sun and will become visible in the night sky after April 19. (Image for representation, Source: NASA) The asteroid will approach Earth from the direction of the Sun and will become visible in the night sky after April 19. (Image for representation, Source: NASA)A relatively large near-Earth asteroid will fly safely past our planet on April 19 at a distance of about 1.8 million kilometres – over four times the distance from Earth to the Moon, NASA said today. Although there is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with Earth, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size. The encounter on April 19 is the closest this asteroid has come to Earth for at least the last 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years.

Source: Indian Express April 09, 2017 06:11 UTC