WASHINGTON, 12th April, 2024 (WAM) -- An asteroid the size of a car recently made a scarily close pass by Earth. Dubbed Asteroid 2024 GJ2, this space rock was only discovered on 9th April, few days before its near-Earth encounter on 12th April.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the 2024 GJ2 is around 3 metres in size and was discovered on Tuesday by the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope in Hawaii, USA.
Astronomers have calculated that the space rock will graze by Earth at a mere-12 thousand-mile (19.3-thousand-kilometre) distance — that's just three percent the distance between the Earth and the moon. 2024 GJ2 measures between 2.5 and 5 metres (8.2 and 16 feet), according to the ESA.