Asteroid the Size of Empire State Building Aims Uncomfortably Close To Earth

An asteroid of ”potentially hazardous” size will come this close to Earth on Oct. 31, NASA predicts.

The asteroid—dubbed 2015 TB145—was just spotted by astronomers on Oct. 10, and its sheer size makes it hard to ignore. TB145 measures approximately 300 to 470 meters (that’s 984 to 1,542 feet) in diameter, which would make it as big as the Empire State Building is tall.

It’s expected to whoosh by earth at a mere 78,000 mph, coming within 1.3 lunar distances (or 310,000 miles) of our planet at around 11:14 a.m. ET (10:14 a.m. CT) on Oct. 31. It’s predicted to simply shoot by—and its doing so will be the closest call since 2006.

The asteroid’s measurements and movement suggest to scientists that it could be “cometary in nature.”

“The flyby presents a truly outstanding scientific opportunity to study the physical properties of this object,” NASA wrote on its website.

NASA estimates that another object will not come this close again until August 2027, when object 1999 AN10 approaches within 1 lunar distance.