Car-Size Asteroid Pass Close by Earth

This NASA plot shows the Feb. 9, 2011 flyby of the asteroid 2011 CA7 as it passes close by Earth. The asteroid poses no threat of impacting the planet. NASA/JPL View full size image

An asteroid about the size of a car will pass close by Earth Wednesday (Feb. 9), the second space rock in five days to fly near – but pose no threat of hitting – our planet.
The asteroid is called 2011 CA7 and will fly within 64,300 miles (103,480 kilometers) of Earth tomorrow, according to an alert from NASA's Asteroid Watch program. It is about 9 1/2 feet across (nearly 3 meters) and was discovered by astronomers earlier this month.
The asteroid will make its closest pass by Earth at around 2:25 p.m. EST (1925 GMT), according to the small-body database overseen by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.