A big ol asteroid measuring about 30m across has zipped past really close to Earth,
just 60,000km from its surface and inside the moon's orbit. This asteroid was the closest observed approach of an object of this size or larger. There are about 70 near-Earth asteroids every year and this is the closest approach asteroid [of this size] we've ever found. The asteroid, dubbed 2009 DD45, passed closest to the Earth at 12.30am on Tuesday. An astronomy enthusiast captured footage of the asteroid's journey and posted it on the video sharing website, YouTube. Since it went up on Tuesday, the footage has received about 50,000 hits. There really was no chance this asteroid would have hit the Earth, but every year and a half or so it will be back.
Other objects have the potential to hit the Earth, including the asteroid called Apophis, which has an outside chance of hitting in 2036. But the probability of impact was about 1 in 5000. I tried to find the Youtube video but couldn't find it.
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