An asteroid will fly very close to Earth on Thursday, Sep. 24, when it comes closer to our planet than the moon.

The asteroid is known as 2020 SW and is estimated to be about 4.4m to 9.9m long.

It is not expected to collide with Earth, according to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

It will be travelling at a velocity of about 27,720kmh, or 7.7km/sec relative to Earth.

The asteroid will zoom by our planet at 7:18pm on Thursday, Sep. 24 (Singapore time).

How close will asteroid get to Earth?

The asteroid will pass about 27,000km away from Earth.

As comparison, the moon is at an average of 384,000km from Earth, or about 30 Earths away.

This asteroid will pass at a distance of about 2.1 Earths.

The asteroid 2020 SW will pass even closer than TV and weather satellites, which orbit at about 35,888km from Earth, according to EarthSky.

When was asteroid spotted?

2020 SW was discovered only on Sep. 18, a week before its approach towards Earth.

As it is small, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

However, it is not unusual to find unknown asteroids headed Earth's way.

In September alone, the Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of 244 near-Earth objects.

Back again after 9 years

Being such a small asteroid, Earth's gravity is expected to change its course.

After asteroid 2020 SW's close shave with Earth, it won't pay our planet another visit until June 3, 2029.

Other sources say the asteroid will only make its return in 2041 at a much farther distance from Earth.

Until then.

A small near-Earth asteroid about the size of a small school bus will safely zoom past our planet around 13,000 miles (21,000 km) above the surface. The space rock will then make its way around the Sun, passing Earth again at a farther distance in 2041. https://t.co/z6uDogXn52 pic.twitter.com/c9Xv4PhNFi

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) September 23, 2020

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Top photo via EarthSky