CALIFORNIA: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has stated that an asteroid, with a size similar to the Empire State Building in New York, is set to come close to earth on Thursday (March 24). The asteroid, which is big enough to cause a lot of destruction if it hits earth, has been named Asteroid 2013 BO76 by the scientific community. It has a diameter of around 450 meters and is potentially hazardous to the planet.

The asteroid will swing past the earth at a distance of 51,11,759 kilometers. This is the second time it is passing earth. It had last visited earth in 2013 and flew as close as 78,88,295 kilometers. The next visit will be in Juy 14, 2033, said NASA. During the next approach, it is expected to be at a distance of 1,91,85,926 kilometers.

NASA has also released the images of the asteroid and its orbit. In the image, the asteroid’s orbit is shown in white, while blue show earth’s orbit. The orbits of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are also visible in the image.