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NASA Confirms Two-Mile Wide Asteroid Set To Pass Earth, Says Don’t Panic

NASA has responded to worried citizens and conspiracy theorists to confirm that a massive two-mile wide asteroid will pass Earth on Saturday, but poses no threat.

The gigantic asteroid is currently zooming through space at nail-biting speeds of 40,000 miles per hour, but the American space agency claims that there is no danger of it hitting Earth.

A collision would be catastrophic, with the catchily named asteroid 86666 (2000 FL 10) being more than 15 times bigger than others currently on NASA’s radar.

NASA states that the asteroid is set to pass by the planet at a distance of nearly 16 million miles.

While that may sound like a long way, in astronomical terms it’s close enough to warrant further investigation and monitoring.

The twitter feed of NASA’s Near Earth Object Office (@AsteroidWatch) tweeted:

“In response to Qs, asteroid 86666 (2000 FL 10) will safely pass Earth October 10 by over 15 million mi/25 million km. It poses zero threat.”

The asteroid was first spotted nearly 16 years ago and is expected to safely pass Earth at the weekend.

NASA recently resorted to denying claims from conspiracy theorists that an asteroid was on a collision course with Earth, coinciding with the Blood Supermoon and heralding the end of planet Earth. The day passed without incident.