A large asteroid could pass very close to Earth, experts have warned.
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Because of its physical vicinity to Earth, the asteroid 4660 Nereus has been designated as a "potentially hazardous" object, and NASA anticipates it to be at its closest point to Earth in 20 years on December 11th. The asteroid was originally located back in 1982 and its size twice the size of the Great Pyramid.
The 4660 Nereus is a 330-meter egg-shaped asteroid that is expected to pass within 2.5 million miles of Earth sometime in the next week, according to experts. While that may make it seem like it will remain a considerable distance away, it's just around 10 times farther away than the moon, which, by cosmic standards, is considered nearby.
NASA classifies near-Earth objects as asteroids or comets that approach within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit.
Nereus has allegedly been recommended as a destination for a space mission several times, according to Forbes, due to its egg form, sheer size, and orbital route around the sun.
Researchers regarded Nereus as a "strong candidate for a rendezvous mission" as early as 2009.
According to Asterank, a database that tracks over 600,000 asteroids, Nereus is worth $4.71 billion, rendering it one of the most cost-effective asteroids to exploit for mineral resources. This is due to the piece of rock anticipated to be rich in nickel, iron, and cobalt.
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