Bus-sized asteroid passing through

Don't get too worried, but there's a bus-sized asteroid just about getting to its closest to Earth today than it will be for a long time, writes Brian Byrne.

It's Asteroid (NEO) 2019 AE3, expected to buzz by our planet about 1.8 million kilometres out, or around four times the distance from Earth to the moon. It came closer last year, at just 781,000 kilometres.

By May it will be 57 million kilometres away, though returning for a not so close pass at 9 million kilometres this time next year.

The designation NEO refers to Near Earth Object, and if you think Kilcullen traffic is heavy, the diagram above from TheSkyLive.Com is an indicator of the number of NEOs being tracked currently.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy