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A huge asteroid is set to zoom past Earth next week at such a close distance that amateur astronomers should be able to spot it.
Asteroid 2007 TU 24 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey, Arizona on October 11, 2007, it measures between 150 and 600 metres across and would inflict devastating regional damage were it to hit earth.
Trajectory of the asteroid is well defined and hence it was removed from 'current impact risks' page of NASA website, which means that NASA has completely ruled out any earth impact possibility.
The asteroid's 1.4-lunar-distance approach on January 29, 2008 is the closest for any known potentially hazardous asteroid until the year 2027.
From the date of discovery, a total of 104 observations of the asteroid can be made, spanning 99 days.
It will fly by next Tuesday at 9.30pm some 530,000 kilometres from the earth at its closest point.
