Amateur astronomer spots potentially dangerous asteroid just days before it flies past Earth

An amateur astronomer spotted a potentially dangerous asteroid heading towards Earth just days before it flew past us.

The object would have created global devastation if it smashed into Earth. But it flew past at a safe distance, at a range of 40 million kilometres or more than 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Still, experts have noted that it is a reminder that relatively large objects could easily be missed as they approach Earth, and repeated warnings that without large-scale tracking the planet could be at risk from unexpected collisions.

The object – officially known as Asteroid 2020 QU6 – was first spotted by Leonardo Amaral at the Campo dos Amarais observatory in Brazil, on 27 August. It made its closest flyby past Earth on 10 September.