On the night of February 16, a large asteroid 199145 (2005 YY128) will fly past the Earth. Its diameter is 800 meters, that is, one and a half Ostankino towers. Alexander Ivanov, head of the Astrophysical Optical Observatory of KubSU, assessed its danger to our planet. The words of the astronomer are quoted by RIA Novosti.

According to Ivanov, the asteroid will pass at a distance of 4.5 million kilometers from Earth, which is 11 times farther than to the Moon. This will happen on Thursday at 03:45 Moscow time. It flies at a speed of 24 kilometers per second. “The object is unique, stones 800 meters in size do not fly by so often. For example, Apophis, which became known for being able to crash into the Earth, was only 300 meters, ”said the source of the agency, emphasizing that the object has been studied enough, as it approaches the Earth every two years.

The expert noted that observation of the object is no longer available from our latitude. It can be seen with telescopes in countries south of the equator: Namibia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and all of South America.

Earlier, New Zealand scientists from the University of Otago listed five countries that could continue to produce food in a hypothetical nuclear winter.