Truck sized asteroid passes close to Earth

An asteroid, the size of a truck, passed very close to Earth on June 2, and though it posed no threat, it came closer to us than the moon had ever done.

The 23-foot-long (7-metre) space rock, named 2009 BD, came within 215,000 miles (346,000 kilometres) of Earth. The moon's average distance from us is about 239,000 miles (385,000km).

Researchers said 2009 BD never threatened to hit Earth, but even if the asteroid had slammed into us, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

"2009 BD is a small object, 7 metres, and poses no threat. Rocky objects this size would break apart in our atmosphere and cause no damage," Fox News quoted scientists with NASA's Asteroid Watch program as tweeting.

Researchers said the asteroid was so small that a large telescope was necessary to see it.

After the close pass, 2009 BD didn't recede into the depths of space like most asteroids do after such encounters. Rather, it continues to stick close to Earth, stalking our planet on its trip around the sun.

Researchers said the space rock will remain within 10 lunar distances of us for the next month or so, as it is what astronomers call a "co-orbital object," meaning its path around the sun roughly parallels that of Earth.