Giant “near-Earth object” asteroid flying towards us at 56,000 miles per hour

A huge asteroid is accelerating towards Earth at 56,000 miles per hour and will be in close proximity on Sunday 29 November.

The asteroid has a diameter of 0.51 kilometers and a height of over 800 meters, making it larger than the Burj Khalifa or nearly three times the size of the Shard.

It has been known to scientists since 2000, when it was discovered by astronomers in New Mexico. Since then, space agencies have followed him and given him the designation: Asteroid 2000 WO107.

The huge space rock has been labeled by NASA as a “ near-Earth object ” (NEO) because it will arrive within 1.3 astronomical units (and AU is defined as 93 million miles, the distance between Earth and the sun. ) at its closest point.

This also earns him the dubious honor of being classified as a “potentially dangerous asteroid” (PHA) because any kind of impact wouldn’t be much fun for anyone on Earth.

“The 2000 WO107 orbits the sun every 318 days (0.87 years), approaching 0.20 AU and reaching the sun 1.62 AU,” explains spacereference.org

“Its orbit is highly elliptical. 2000 WO107 has a diameter of about 0.5 kilometers, which makes it small in absolute terms, but about 97% larger than asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge ”.

Thankfully, there’s no chance this Golden Gate Bridge-sized rock will hit us on Sunday. It will pass just under 4,302,775 km from Earth. In fact, 28 close approaches of this asteroid are expected in the coming decades.

According to NASA, there are 1,031,488 known asteroids to date. As this is classified as NEA, NASA must apply its national strategy for the preparation of near-Earth objects and the worst-case scenario action plan.

We’re not sure what this entails, but it could involve Bruce Willis and a group of misfits recruited to step in and save the day. In any case, you don’t feel the need to cancel any programs for Sunday.

MORE: NASA seeks to visit an asteroid as valuable as the global economy

MORE: NASA spacecraft successfully grabs a piece of asteroid Bennu