"An asteroid will pass closer to Earth than ever recorded at 5:08 p.m. EST (2208 GMT) today, NASA (news - web sites) scientists announced. The planet is not at risk, they said.

The space rock is about 100 feet (30 meters) wide.

It will pass just 26,500 miles (43,000 kilometers) over the southern Atlantic Ocean. That's about 3.4 times the Earth's diameter. It's also just beyond geostationary weather satellites, which orbit at an altitude of 22,300 miles."