Close call: Giant asteroid passes within 28,000 miles of Earth



An asteroid the size of a double-decker bus skimmed past Earth yesterday, flying within the orbit of the moon.



The space rock, labelled 2010 TD54, passed away approximately 28,000 miles away at 10.51am GMT.



Scientists had said that despite its close proximity to the planet, the asteroid would not enter the Earth's atmosphere and, if it had, it would have most likely burned up before reaching the ground.

First sighting: The Kitt Peak National Observatory Solar Telescope in Arizona spotted the asteroid the size of a double-decker bus. It skimmed past Earth today 'Small space rocks this size would burn up in our atmosphere and pose no ground danger,' Nasa's Asteroid Watch said on Twitter.

The rock was detected on Sunday by the Nasa-backed Arizona Kitt Peak National Observatory Solar Telescope.



The space agency added that a 'moderate telescope' would be needed to view the asteroid which at times would be closer to Earth than some satellites, and 'significantly near' the Moon.

Near miss: The asteroid was just 28,000 miles away from Earth when it flew past

The TD54 is the latest in a string of asteroids that have been discovered to be passing close to Earth recently.



In late September astronomers spotted a 'potentially hazardous' space rock - the 2010 ST3 - which will pass within four million miles of the planet in mid-October.

The object, which was reported to be 150 metres in diameter, was the first Potentially Hazardous Object (PHO) to be discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey, which uses a new telescope to look for dangerous asteroids.

And two smaller rocks, which were discovered by by the Nasa-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, flew harmlessly past Earth just over a month ago.



Congested: This image taken in 2010 shows just how many asteroids there are within our solar system

Asteroid 2010 RX30, which was estimated at between 32 and 55 feet long, passed within 154,000 miles of the planet, followed on the same day by the 2010 RF12, which was 20-49 feet long and just 49,000 miles away.

Although none of these objects hit Earth, scientists have suggested that a ten-metre long asteroid passes as close to the Earth as the Moon on a daily basis.