Asteroid Called ‘Spooky’ Will Buzz Earth on Halloween
The space rock was discovered just weeks before its flyby.
A space rock bigger than a skyscraper will sail past Earth on Halloween, zipping by just beyond the moon. The asteroid won't collide with our planet, but as a cosmic trick-or-treat it offers a rare chance to see a near miss.
Astronomers from NASA's Near Earth Object Program first spotted the incoming asteroid on October 10, just three weeks before its closest approach. It was too small and faint to detect until it came within the range of large survey telescopes.
Since then, scientists having been scrambling every night to keep an eye on the interloper, tracking its orbit as well as its shape and size.
NASA has calculated the asteroid's trajectory and says it will safely zip by us, traveling
