Asteroid bigger than Empire State Building set to pass by Earth

NASA are keeping a close eye on an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building set to make a close approach with Earth.

NASA is keeping a close eye on a huge asteroid that’s heading towards Earth.

The US space agency expects Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) to make a close approach to our planet on May 15.

The giant space rock is predicted to be up to 0.5km wide, The Sun reports.

In comparison, New York’s iconic Empire State Building stands at 443m tall.

An asteroid of this size would cause some serious damage if it hit Earth.

There’s no need to panic though as Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) should pass us from a distance of about 3.5 million miles away.

That may sound pretty far away but in the grand scheme of space this isn’t a large distance at all.

That’s why NASA has still flagged it as a “close approach”.

If an asteroid comes within 4.65 million miles and is over a certain size, it’s considered “potentially hazardous” by cautious space agencies.

The asteroid is making its way toward Earth and is estimated to be larger than the Empire State Building.

Sunday’s asteroid fits this description.

It should shoot past from its safe distance at a speed of just over 28,970km per hour.

NASA says the asteroid should pass Earth at around 7.18am AEST.

Plans to save Earth from asteroids

Some experts are worried that Earth isn’t yet ready to defend itself from potentially deadly asteroids.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk once sparked concern by tweeting: “a big rock will hit Earth eventually & we currently have no defence.”

NASA is looking into some defence methods though.

It recently launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission.

NASA said: “DART is the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact.”

The DART craft should slam into a small asteroid called Dimorphos in September with the aim of moving it off course.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.