QA2 passed safely at 52,580 miles on August 27-28, 2016, just hours after discovery.
An asteroid safely passed by our planet on Saturday night – August 27-28, 2016 – just hours after being detected.
The speeding space rock came considerably closer than the moon, as it passed at just 0.22 the Earth-moon distance. That’s about 52,580 miles (84,619 km) away.
Yikes. That was close.
The asteroid has an estimated size of 111.5 feet (34 meters), although its exact dimension can range between 52-171 feet (16 to 52 meters).
That would have broken some windows.
How’s that space program coming along?
tinfoilparachute 