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The fast asteroid, christened by NASA's 2019 JH7 asteroid, surpassed Earth early this morning (Thursday, May 16). According to NASA's asteroid tracking systems, the space rock dangerously approached our Earth at about 1:06 am Paris time (12:06 UTC). The incredible news comes just two days after NASA first observed the asteroid heading for Earth on Tuesday, May 14th. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, announced that the asteroid had flown on a trajectory called "Earth Close Approach".
At the closest, the asteroid JH7 approached our home planet by 0.19 times the distance of the Moon.
In other words, the space rock fell within a radius of 44,618 miles (71,807 km) after hitting the Earth.
NASA stated that this equates to 0.00048 astronomical unit (au).
An astronomical unit measures the distance between the Earth and the Sun, about 93 million miles (149.6 million km).
READ MORE: Find out how often asteroids hit Earth
The JH7 asteroid is a NEO or near-Earth object of the Apollo type.
NEOs are all comets and asteroids orbiting the Sun from a maximum distance of 1.3 astronomical units or 120.8 million miles (194.5 million km).
From time to time, NEOs will enter the Sun's own Earth orbit and come dangerously close.
NASA stated: "When they gravitate around the Sun, objects close to the Earth can sometimes approach the Earth.
READ MORE: NASA unveils its formidable mission of asteroid redirection
"Note that a" near "passage astronomically can be very far in human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometers."
As NASA flew over the asteroid, space rock was reaching incredible speeds of about 9.64 km per second or 34,564 km / h.
NASA's JPL also estimates that the asteroid measurements have a diameter of between 3.1 and 6.9 m (10.1 ft. To 22.6 ft.).
In the upper part of the estimate, the asteroid is about as high as an average giraffe and is just shorter than a London double decker bus.
READ MORE: Watch the main asteroid DESTROY Earth in violent accident simulation
Based on the trajectory of asteroid JH7, NASA has calculated a number of future overflights between today and 2077.
The next closer approaches will take place on May 12, 2020 and May 9, 2021.
After that, the space rock will also pass before the burning planet Venus on July 4, 2020.
The last scheduled overview should take place on May 10, 2077.
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