According to NASA, a “potentially hazardous asteroid” will pass relatively close to the Earth on Saturday.
If it were to strike our planet (it won't), the asteroid would trigger a nuclear winter and mass extinction event, according to the International Business Times.
“According to the data collected by NASA, the approaching asteroid is larger than the tallest man-made structure in the world,” IBT reported. “NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has identified the incoming asteroid as 163373 (2002 PZ39). As indicated in CNEOS' database, this asteroid is currently traveling toward Earth at a speed of almost 34,000 miles per hour.
“[The] near-Earth intersection will happen on Feb. 15 at 6:05 a.m. EST. During this time, the asteroid will pass over the planet from a distance of 0.03860 astronomical units or around 3.6 million miles away.”
While many criticized articles about the asteroid as “clickbait,” others found an opportunity for dark humor.
