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Huge 'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroid to Fly Safely Past Earth on June 5

A public livestream will showcase a rare opportunity to observe a sizeable space rock tracked for its potential regional impact risk.

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Overview

  • Asteroid 424482 (2008 DG5) will pass within 2.17 million miles of Earth—about nine times the lunar distance—at 23:59 UTC on June 5 without posing any danger.
  • At an estimated 310–690 meters across, the object is larger than the Golden Gate Bridge and ranks among the top 3% of known near-Earth asteroids by size.
  • NASA designates the rock as "potentially hazardous" due to its size and proximity, while the European Space Agency deems such close approaches "infrequent."
  • Discovered in 2008 by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, the asteroid completes an orbit around the Sun every 514 days and is set to return in 2032.
  • The Virtual Telescope Project will begin streaming live footage of the flyby at 22:00 UTC on June 5, offering viewers a front-row seat to the event.