On August 20, an asteroid larger than the Egyptian Great Pyramid of Giza will fly past the Earth for the first time in over 100 years.
The asteroid, called 2019 AV13, is estimated to be between 330 and 750 feet in diameter, making it about the size of the 455-foot Great Pyramid.
It is predicted to approach at about 20 miles per hour and pass at a distance of 000 lunar distances, one lunar distance being the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
The last time the asteroid came this close was in 1914, and the next time it will come within the same distance is in 2113. The asteroid does not pose a danger to Earth.
“The 100-year interval between events is a purely statistical construct based on the number of objects of a certain size, their orbits, and their arbitrary distance, so 100 years is an average value. In fact, it's just as likely that we'll have another close approach like this next year as we will in a century," said Jay Tait, director of The Spaceguard Center.
The risk of any large asteroid hitting the Earth is incredibly low. NASA has said there are no asteroids that pose a significant risk of hitting Earth in the next century.
