‘House’ sized asteroid passes close to Earth

London, Sep 8 :

A 60-feet asteroid about the size of a normal house flew past Earth Sunday posing no threat to humans, NASA reported.

The asteroid 2014 RC passed over New Zealand at a close distance of 40,000 km from earth.

An asteroid of same size left over 1,000 people injured when it exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013.

“The asteroid that flew past earth was first discovered Aug 31 and, at its closest approach, was about one-tenth of the distance from the centre of Earth to the Moon,” NASA said in a statement.

While this celestial object does not appear to pose any threat to earth or satellites, “its close approach creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids”, the statement added.

However, a meteorite that landed near the Nicaraguan capital Managua Sunday could have come from the asteroid, BBC reported.

(IANS)