MIAMI, (Reuters) – A newly discovered asteroid made a “close” approach to Earth this week – at least in astronomical terms – and it is likely to come back around in 2032, but there is only a miniscule risk of it smashing into the planet, NASA said yesterday.
The asteroid known as 2013 TV135 came within 4.2 million miles (6.7 million km) of Earth on Wednesday, the U.S. space agency said.
It was discovered on Oct. 8 by astronomers at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Ukraine. Astronomers have only a week’s worth of observations to go on, but believe its orbit will bring it back to Earth’s neighborhood in 2032.
