Astronomers at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have spotted the large asteroid 163348 (2002 NN4), which is expected to be as close as possible to Earth on June 6. The size of the approaching celestial body is estimated at 250-570 meters. The asteroid will approach the Earth at a minimum distance on Saturday. Researchers discovered asteroid 163348 (2002 NN4) 18 years ago. It makes one revolution around the Sun in 300 Earth days.
According to the Daily Star website, NASA has classed the asteroid as an ‘Aten asteroid’, which is a space rock following a very wide orbit around the Sun. Despite 2002 NN4’s distance from Earth, NASA considers the space rock a ‘Near-Earth Object’ – it considers all asteroids NEOs if they approach Earth within 1.3 astronomical units. A NEO is a term used by NASA to describe comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth’s neighborhood.