Looming asteroid under close watch
There is a slight chance that the asteroid, dubbed 2002 NT7, could smack the Earth on February 1, 2019, causing a global catastrophe but astronomers said the odds were one in 250,000 and further calculation would probably show it will miss the planet entirely.
It now heads the list of asteroids and comets monitored by NASA, but as scientists learn more it isn't expected to stay there. "One way or another, this thing is coming off the risk page," said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's near-Earth object programme.
