ABC News Today

Amid frequent sightings of small asteroids, a massive 420-foot asteroid is expected to come terrifyingly close to Earth tomorrow, August 20. The asteroid, named Asteroid 2019 AV13, is expected to miss Earth by just a few million miles. Discovered in 2019, the asteroid is expected to pass Earth at 21:21 on August 20. The asteroid is traveling towards Earth at an astonishing speed of 32,400 kilometers per hour.

Asteroid 2019 AV13 is one of the largest asteroids to pass by Earth this year. The asteroid is almost as big as a skyscraper, nearly 420 feet across. It will pass by Earth at a distance of almost 3.2 million miles.

Although this asteroid will not impact Earth, it has still been classified as a “potentially hazardous asteroid” due to its size and how close it will pass by Earth. This asteroid is part of the Apollo asteroid group and orbits the Sun in about 482 days, according to sky.org.

What are asteroids?

According to NASA, asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun, formed nearly 4.5 billion years ago at the dawn of the solar system. Scientists say that asteroids are left over from pieces that were left over after the planets formed.

Asteroids are part of the Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that are constantly observed for any potential threats to Earth. Most asteroids can be found orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. According to NASA, the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) watches the sky for potentially dangerous asteroids, predicts their trajectories and performs impact hazard assessments. Asteroids that come within 28 million miles of Earth’s orbit are classified as potentially hazardous asteroids.