Asteroid 2012 TC4, an asteroid the size of a house passed by earth yesterday but fortunately proved to be no risk to our planet.
NASA scientists said asteroid 2012 TC4 passed by Earth at a range of just 59,000 miles (95,000 kilometers). To put that into perspective, that is about one-fourth the distance to the moon - when it makes its closest point today, according to the Space.com. On average, the moon's orbit is about 238,000 miles (383,000 km).
"Small asteroid 2012 TC4 will safely pass Earth Oct 12 at just .25 the distance to our moon's orbit," scientists with NASA's Asteroid Watch program wrote in a Twitter update this week.
Asteroid 2012 TC4 passed by at about 2 a.m. in the overnight hours.
"There is no danger of a collision, but the 16 meter-wide space rock will be close enough to photograph through backyard telescopes as it brightens to approximately 14th magnitude. NASA hopes to ping this this object with radar, refining its orbit and possibly measuring its shape," according to Spaceweather.com.
The 2012 Asteroid TC4, discovered on Oct. 4, is only 17 meters wide, or 56 feet -- so even if it had hit the earth, the damage would not likely be catastrophic. (MSNBC reports that past estimates by astronomers said that an asteroid about 460 feet wide would cause widespread damage on the planet.)
Curious space observers watched as the asteroid passed earth on astrowebtv.org. The website reports it received many visitors from around the world that came to view this rare occurrence. Videos will be uploaded online after editing has been completed , the site announced.
