Should we be worried? NASA discovers massive asteroid headed our way!

An asteroid is expected to pass by incredibly close to Earth on January 26, affording amateur astronomers a once-in-a-decade chance to see a rock about a third of a mile wide.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - 2004 BL86 will pass by Earth about 745,000 miles away, only three times as far from Earth as the Moon.

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This means that those with small telescopes or powerful binoculars will be able to see the asteroid as it passes by.

There is no danger of the asteroid hitting the Earth, but the space rock-which is traveling at about 35,000 miles per hour-is traveling close enough that it is considered a narrow miss.

This is the closest that any large, detectable body will come to Earth until asteroid 1999 AN10 passes by in August of 2027. AN10 is about 0.6 miles wide, and could potential come as close as 19,000 miles.

The retiring head of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program office, Don Yeomans, said that asteroid's passing will be a unique event that is truly once in a lifetime.

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"Monday, January 26 will be the closest asteroid 2004 BL86 will get to Earth for at least the next 200 years," he said. "And while it poses no threat to Earth for the foreseeable future, it's a relatively close approach by a relatively large asteroid, so it provides us a unique opportunity to observe and learn more."

The Near-Earth Object Program is charged with looking for and detecting asteroids and other large bodies that could potentially be dangerous for Earth.

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