The asteroid, 2.5 kilometers in diameter, observed since 1998, passes on April 29.

An asteroid estimated to be 2.5 kilometers in diameter is heading toward Earth, but Chinese experts say there is no chance of the celestial body colliding with the planet. The asteroid, code 52768 (1998 OR2), was first detected in 1998 by the United States Space Agency (NASA).

If such a large object hit Earth, it would cause a global catastrophe, scientists say.

Since its discovery, the world’s space agencies have been closely monitoring the asteroid, precisely defining its orbit, said Zhao Haj-pin, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The asteroid will pass Earth on April 29 at a speed of 8.69 kilometers per second. It is expected to approach the Earth’s surface at 6.28 million km, which is 16.4 times the Earth-Moon distance.

So the asteroid has zero chance of colliding with Earth, Chao noted.

“Thanks to monitoring work, asteroids do not escape our attention, there is no need to panic,” said the researcher.

The Purple Mountain Observatory near-Earth object telescope is China’s main instrument for connecting to the International Asteroid Alert Network. It has its own asteroid database by performing tens of thousands of asteroid observing tasks.

(Our illustration of the opening image).

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