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(CNN) – In spite of what your social media tells you, a skull-shaped asteroid is not going to Earth this Halloween.
The 2015 TB145 asteroid resembled a skull when it passed our planet three years ago on Halloween. But now, the object may be a little less "humorous" because its shape may have changed since then.
In 2015, the asteroid missed Earth by just 300,000 miles and was visible to good telescope holders. This year, the closest distance will be 25 million miles – which is way too far to say what it looks like.
"This time, the distance is not enough (on the Earth) to exceed the point of light," said Paul Chodas, head of NASA's Reaction Propulsion Laboratory at the Center for Studies in Nuclear Power. objects close to the Earth.
The asteroid was previously estimated to be 2,000 feet in diameter. However, asteroids change shape over time, when they break into other celestial objects and separate.
In addition, the giant rock will not be closer until November 11, well after Halloween.
According to NASA, the asteroid is most likely a "dead" comet that once spilled debris into the solar system. Speaking of space, this means that it has "eliminated its volatiles" that would produce the visible tail of certain comets.
The asteroid was discovered on October 10, 2015 by the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope (pan-survey telescope and rapid response system) at Haleakala on the island of Maui.
The-CNN-Wire ™ and © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
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