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Astronomers from NASA have discovered a huge asteroid that was about to hit Earth on Friday at 10:30 A.M EST. NASA

Astronomers from NASA have confirmed a huge asteroid flew past the Earth, on Friday at 10.30 a.m. EST.

The asteroid - Asteroid 2012 BX34 - was apparently 36 feet (11m) wide and passed by within 60,000km of the planet.

The planet witnessed a similar incident on Nov. 8 last year, when Asteroid 2005 YU55 made its closest fly-by in 200 years; it came within 324,600 kilometers of the Earth.

"It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try," Asteroid Watch scientists tweeted on January 26. Asteroid Watch is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"It's a near miss. It makes the top 20 list of closest approaches ever observed," said Gareth Williams, Associate Director of the U.S.-based Minor Planet Center to AFP, "This came about a sixth of the distance from the Moon."

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