A Close Encounter with a Space Rock Today a half-km asteroid is passing by the Earth 12 times farther from our planet than the Moon.
Scientists say it's an unusually good opportunity to study a near-Earth object.
This morning a half-kilometer wide space rock is zooming past Earth barely 12 times farther from our planet than the Moon. In cosmic terms, it's a near miss. But don't bother grabbing your hard hats, scientists say, as there is absolutely no danger of a collision. Instead, the close encounter will afford astronomers a welcome opportunity to study a bright near-Earth asteroid from close range. QW7 caught the attention of NEAT project scientists because it was fast-moving and unusually bright.