Bigger Than Airliner: Huge Asteroid Hurls Towards Earth’s Orbit

October 5 (Sputnik news) – Our planet is about to have yet another brush with a massive chunk of rock from outer space in a matter of days, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Objects.

The asteroid in question, designated 2020 RK2, was reportedly first spotted by astronomers last month.

With its size being somewhere between 36 and 83 meters in diameter, thus possibly rivalling that of a Boeing 747 airliner, the asteroid is expected to cross our planet’s orbit on 7 October.

While the space rock will be traveling at the speed of about 6.68 kilometers per second, it is not actually expected to hit our planet, essentially making it yet another asteroid that flies harmlessly past Earth – a not that uncommon occurrence.