A large asteroid is going to fly past Earth next week.
It's been well characterized, with a diameter of 330 meters, because it is a relatively frequent visitor to near-Earth space. The Empire State Building is taller than that.
The safe distance between Earth and the Moon is just over 10 times that of 4660 Nereus.
4660 Nereus is a potentially hazardous object because of its size and distance from Earth. Any asteroid that is larger than 140 meters (500 feet) across is included in that classification. A lot of rocks fall into that category.
There are many reasons to follow them. Keeping an eye on groups of asteroids and making sure that they haven't deviated off their known path into a more dangerous path to Earth are some of the things that are included in these.
It's not dangerous, but it flies by Earth with relative regularity. It's a safe distance away from us because it's around the Sun for almost two decades.
Hayabusa, which eventually visited Itokawa, was a target for asteroid missions because of this.
Its close approach next week will be the closest in decades. It will fly by at a distance of 1.2 million kilometers on February 14, 2060, three times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
It's better to be prepared than not, since we know that asteroids have had a big impact on Earth.
The DART mission was launched last week by NASA to try and knock an asteroid off-course. The encounter is scheduled to take place in September of next year.
asteroids landing on your head is not currently one of the things you have to worry about. If you're really worried, you can keep an eye on upcoming asteroid close approaches here and here.
