This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 Monday showed it 3.6 lunar distances (860,000 miles or 1.38 million km) from Earth. STORY HIGHLIGHTS The closest approach will occur at 6:28 p.m. ET Tuesday The asteroid will pass within 202,000 miles of Earth, NASA says The space rock poses no threat of an Earth collision (CNN) -- An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will pass Earth to within eight-tenths of the distance of the moon Tuesday, the closest approach to Earth of an object this size in more than 30 years. The closest approach will occur at 6:28 p.m. ET when the asteroid passes within 202,000 miles of our planet, NASA said. The space agency classified the asteroid as a "potentially hazardous object." If the asteroid were to crash into Earth, it could cause a 4,000 megaton blast and a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, according to scientists at Purdue University. If it fell into the ocean, it could cause a 70-foot high tsunami within 60 miles of the crash site, the experts ...
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