NASA classes all asteroids that are predicted to come within 30million miles of our planet’s orbit as near-Earth.
It tracks these rocks on the off-chance they slam into Earth, causing catastrophic damage.
Although the space agency is relatively accurate in predicting how close they will pass by, some factors can alter an asteroid’s course.
For example, the gravitational pull of a larger space object – such a planet – can send it in a different direction.
Even a smaller rock hitting Earth could cause large amounts of destruction.
For example, an asteroid struck over Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia in 2013, injuring 1,000 people with windows in buildings shattering after it exploded in the sky.
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