Asteroid 2012 TC4 Came Close To Earth, Size Of A House

Oct 13, 2012 10:59 AM EDT | Matt Mercuro

An asteroid the size of a house passed Earth on Friday, causing scientists to caution the nation.

There was no major threat that the asteroid TC4 would hit the planet, but it was only 59,000 miles away from the planet. This is the closest an asteroid of that size has come to hitting earth.

Had the asteroid struck, the planet wouldn't have been in trouble, but it would have cause significant damage where ever it crashed. Scientists have estimated the asteroid was 460 feet wide.

Discovered on Oct. 4, the asteroid was big enough to be seen using just a small telescope by scientists according to The Huffington Post.  

In Sept. 2011, NASA said that surveys they conducted concluded that 90 percent of the largest asteroids that could post a threat to earth if one ever got close enough. Some asteroids can range from the size of a boulder, a mountain or even bigger according to NASA. The one that passed the earth was a big as a house.

People could watch as the asteroid passed earth on astrowebtv.org. The website received a great deal of hits as people all-around the world wanted to witness something they may never see again. Videos will be loaded online after editing has been completed the site announced.

Officials with the B16 Foundation said their plan to launch the Sentinel Space Telescope to scan for near-Earth asteroids has passed a major review milestone.

The telescope will be able to search for asteroids further than any telescope has been able to before. Using the telescope, one would be able to see the orbit of Venus according to Daily Mail Online.

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