A 1,300-foot-wide space rock is making a close approach to Earth on Nov. 8, and it seems a little too close for comfort.
At a distance of about 201,700 miles, the massive asteroid will pass within the orbit of the moon, which is 240,000 miles distant from Earth on average. It will fly by at 6:28 p.m. EST, or 23:28 UT.
The asteroid, named 2005 YU55, is the largest object that we have known about in advance to pass this close to the Earth. As its name indicates, the object was discovered in 2005, so at least we have basically had six years to plan for this close approach. It is also the largest object to fly past us until 2028.
The asteroid will obtain a magnitude 11 apparent brightness and should be visible in many telescopes.
