SCIENTISTS have just spotted an asteroid which will brush past Earth this evening.Asteroid 2017 BS32 will fly past at around 161,280 km from our planet, according to stargazers.2017 BS32 is expected to hurtle past at around 8.30pm Thursday.The space rock – estimated to be around 82ft in size – belongs to the Aten group of asteroids.Several of the thousands of Atens have been classed as “potentially hazardous” because of their proximity to Earth.It was only spotted on Monday by astronomers and is the fourth Near-Earth Asteroid to pass this year, according to eagle-eyed asteroid watchers.But fear not, these close encounters are more common than you might think and researchers at Nasa are keeping tabs on any strays at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Tonight’s close shave will be followed by another giant comet which will approach later this month.The 2016 WF9, was detected by Nasa in late November and is something of a mystery because of its strange behaviour.Scientists believe the celestial rock is a cross between an asteroid and a comet.It’s in the middle of its nine-year orbit between Jupiter and Earth and will approach us on February 25, flying by at a distance of 32million miles from the planet.And thanks to its size, we should be able to see it streak past in the sky.It’s rumoured to be part of a ongoing… Read full this story
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