Large asteroid, with moon in tow, to fly by Earth

A large asteroid accompanied by its own small moon was approaching Earth on Friday, the latest in a string of celestial visitors drawing attention to the potential dangers of objects in space.

Asteroid 1998 QE2 - which is not named for the United Kingdom's monarch - is about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in diameter, about nine times as long as the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner. At its closest approach, which will occur at 4:59 p.m. EDT (2059 GMT), asteroid 1998 QE2 will be about 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) from Earth, which is roughly 15 times farther away than Earth's moon. (Reuters)