NASA warns of THREE asteroids headed towards Earth, as Japan prepares for next mission to nearby space rock — RT

 As 2020 draws to a close and the number of existential threats to life on Earth appears to diminish at least slightly, NASA is warning about the close flybys of three asteroids over 40 meters in diameter.

On December 21 alone, three asteroids ranging from 5.1 meters to 45 meters in diameter are expected to shoot past the Earth.

The tiny, five-meter 2020 YB has already passed the planet at a relatively close 899,000km.

Dwarfing their space rock companion are the 45-meter (or roughly half the height of the Statue of Liberty) 2017XQ60 and the 42-meter (a third the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza) 2020 XA3, passing at 4.1 million and 4.8 million kilometers respectively.

Next up, on Tuesday, December 22, the 14-meter asteroid 2020 XH6 will pass at a distance of 2.4 million kilometers, followed shortly afterwards by the 41-meter (2.5 times the height of the Hollywood Sign) 2020 YP at 5.7 million km. ...RT