Asteroid To Come By Earth

The three-mile long Toutatis asteroid is supposed to make its appearance throughout the week as it zips past Earth. Although you cannot see the asteroid with the naked eye, it would still be an experience that only comes around every 4 years.

It is thought to be that sometime in the future, this asteroid will change its path into the Earth. Scientists say that if it does in fact come into a collision path with Earth, it will not happen for another couple hundred of years. Although many asteroids have been discovered, very few have even the slightest chance of hitting Earth. Lance Benner, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory research scientist, talks about the danger of found asteroids colliding with Earth and says “It's the ones we haven't found yet that are of greater concern."

Benner says the asteroid is rotating very slowly and is 3 miles wide. To us, a 3-mile wide asteroid seems like it would be the biggest asteroid ever discovered, but to Benner, it isn't even considered humongous or gigantic. The asteroid will only be visible this week and won't show up in the next four years, so don't miss it!

By: Zach Baldwin