The asteroid's length rivals with that of the Golden Gate Bridge, researchers say

May 18, 2013 05:43 GMT  ·  By

This coming May 31, an asteroid said to be roughly 9 times the size of Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship is expected to fly by our planet.

Scientists working with NASA wish to stress that, regardless of its impressive size, the space rock does not constitute a threat to either our planet or the moon.

This is because its closest approach, set to occur at 1:59 p.m. Pacific (4:59 p.m. Eastern / 20:59 UTC), will only bring it at a distance of roughly 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers) to our planet.

This basically means that the distance between the Earth and the asteroid will be 15 times greater than the one between our planet and the moon.

Following its flying by our planet this May 13, asteroid 1998 QE2, as this space rock is named, is expected to keep its distance for about two centuries to come.

Astronomers hope that, with the help of ground-based radar telescopes, they will be able to analyze the space rock's surface and make head and tail of its features, The Verge informs us.

As astronomer Lance Benner puts it, “Whenever an asteroid approaches this closely, it provides an important scientific opportunity to study it in detail to understand its size, shape, rotation, surface features, and what they can tell us about its origin.”

Unfortunately, amateur astronomers and ordinary folks will be unable to catch a glimpse of this asteroid as it visits our planet. Unless they happen to own a 230-foot (70-meter) – or larger – radar telescope, NASA jokes.

Because of this, those wishing to have a look at it will just have to wait for NASA to release some of the pictures they plan on taking between May 30 and June 9.

“Asteroid 1998 QE2 will be an outstanding radar imaging target at Goldstone and Arecibo and we expect to obtain a series of high-resolution images that could reveal a wealth of surface features,” Lance Benner pointed out.

The asteroid's length is said to be one of 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers).

The space rock was reportedly discovered by scientists working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program close to Socorro, New Mexico, on August 19, 1998.