NEO asteroids are of incredible importance to NASA because of the potential threat they pose to Earth’s safety.
NASA said: “Discovering NEOs is not enough – we need to characterise them and understand their physical properties so that we can take appropriate action should one be found on an Earth-threatening trajectory.”
Asteroid 2019 WH2 is estimated to be a relatively small asteroid measuring between 46ft to 78.7ft (14m to 24m) across.
At the upper end of NASA’s estimate, the space rock is comparable in width to the length of a cricket pitch.