An asteroid about the size of a football field has caught the attention of space-watchers for how close it is expected to pass to Earth later this year.

Asteroid 2006 QV89 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in August 2006 and is expected to come close to Earth in September. The European Space Agency lists Sept. 9 as the possible day of impact . The asteroid is fourth on the space agency's risk list of objects threatening the planet, but it is not on the agency's priority list.

The space object is 130 feet in diameter and is currently 4.2 million miles away from Earth. The space agency projects that the object could come as close as 1.6 million miles. The asteroid made its first close approach to Earth in January 1952 and has since had seven close approaches, the most recent in September 2006.

After this year's close approach, the European Space Agency predicts the asteroid will make its next in December 2032 and come back several times after that.

The asteroid isn't the only near Earth object – defined as an asteroid or comet that comes within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit – traveling through space. According to The Planetary Society , more than 18,000 near Earth objects were recorded in 2018. Topping the ESA's risk list is 2010RF12 , an object 29 feet in diameter expected to come as close as 66,621 miles to Earth in September 2022.

In June 2018, NASA published the National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan. The report details steps the U.S. can take to be better prepared for near Earth objects, including improving tracking and detection of the objects and developing technologies for deflecting them.

