A newly found asteroid, named ‘2016 RB1’, came within 40,000 km of Earth .which is less than one-tenth of the moon’s distance from Earth. The 7-16 meters wide asteroid was first spotted on September 5, 2016. Scientists have predicted that it was the closest the asteroid would come near the Earth for at least the next 50 years.

• Asteroid 2016 RB1 was discovered on Sept. 5, 2016, by astronomers using the 60-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey, located at the summit of Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona — a project of NASA’S NEO Observations Program in collaboration with the University of Arizona.

About NASA:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science.

The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958.