What do we know about the Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR?

The space rock was first spotted in the solar system in 1998 and has since been tracked by NASA‘s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

With nearly 30 years of observations under its belt, the US space agency is very confident the rock does not pose any threat to Earth.

NASA’s initial estimates show Astroid OR2 measures somewhere between 0.9 miles and 2.54 miles (1.5km and 4.1km) in diameter.

More recent radar photos snapped by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have narrowed the asteroid down to just 1.2 miles (2km) across.

The Observatory said: “The Arecibo Observatory is using its powerful radar system to track (52768) 1998 OR2, a near-Earth asteroid that will safely pass the Earth at a distance 16 times further than the distance to the Moon on April 29.