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Skyscraper-Size Asteroid Will Buzz Earth on Friday, Safely Passing Within 1.7 Million Miles 

This image provided by Virtual Telescope Project out of Italy shows a single 180-second exposure asteroid that was approaching Earth, about 4 million kilometers. (Virtual Telescope Project via AP)
This image provided by Virtual Telescope Project out of Italy shows a single 180-second exposure asteroid that was approaching Earth, about 4 million kilometers. (Virtual Telescope Project via AP)
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Skyscraper-Size Asteroid Will Buzz Earth on Friday, Safely Passing Within 1.7 Million Miles 

This image provided by Virtual Telescope Project out of Italy shows a single 180-second exposure asteroid that was approaching Earth, about 4 million kilometers. (Virtual Telescope Project via AP)
This image provided by Virtual Telescope Project out of Italy shows a single 180-second exposure asteroid that was approaching Earth, about 4 million kilometers. (Virtual Telescope Project via AP)

An asteroid as big as a skyscraper will pass within 1.7 million miles of Earth on Friday.

Don’t worry: There’s no chance of it hitting us since it will pass seven times the distance from Earth to the moon.

NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies estimates the space rock is between 690 feet and 1,575 feet (210 meters and 480 meters) across. That means the asteroid could be similar in size to New York City’s Empire State Building or Chicago’s Willis Tower.

Discovered in 2008, the asteroid is designated as 2008 OS7. It won’t be back our way again until 2032, but it will be a much more distant encounter, staying 45 million miles (72 million kilometers) away.

The harmless flyby is one of several encounters this week. Three much smaller asteroids also will harmlessly buzz Earth on Friday, no more than tens of yards (meters) across, with another two on Saturday. On Sunday, an asteroid roughly half the size of 2008 0S7 will swing by, staying 4.5 million miles (7.3 million kilometers) away.

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Truck Driver's Body Recovered from Huge Japan Sinkhole after 3 Months

Firefighters guard a vehicle carrying the body believed to be that of a male truck driver, found in a sewage pipe near the site of a road collapse that occurred on January 28, in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture on May 2, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
Firefighters guard a vehicle carrying the body believed to be that of a male truck driver, found in a sewage pipe near the site of a road collapse that occurred on January 28, in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture on May 2, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
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Truck Driver's Body Recovered from Huge Japan Sinkhole after 3 Months

Firefighters guard a vehicle carrying the body believed to be that of a male truck driver, found in a sewage pipe near the site of a road collapse that occurred on January 28, in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture on May 2, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
Firefighters guard a vehicle carrying the body believed to be that of a male truck driver, found in a sewage pipe near the site of a road collapse that occurred on January 28, in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture on May 2, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)

Japanese rescuers have recovered the body of a truck driver who was swallowed by a huge sinkhole near Tokyo three months ago, an official said on Friday.

A road in the city of Yashio caved in during morning rush hour in late January while the 74-year-old man was driving his lorry on it.

The sinkhole, which was caused by corroded sewerage pipes, was reportedly 16 meters (52 feet) deep in February.

The search operation was hindered by unstable ground, which raised the risk of the chasm collapsing further and prevented rescuers from approaching the area where the driver was believed to be buried, AFP reported.

Since then the hole has grown to at least 40 metres across, almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool.

A slope later allowed rescuers to send heavy equipment into the hole while 1.2 million residents were asked to temporarily cut back on showers and laundry to prevent leaking sewage from hindering the operation.

Walls were built to ensure safety, regional officials told AFP.

"We discovered a man inside the truck cabin and confirmed his death, then passed the incident to police," a spokesman for the local fire department said Friday.

A police spokesman said investigations were under way, including officially confirming the body's identity.

"Until the very end of his life, my father, who had a strong heart, must have been hoping to come home alive -- fighting fear and pain -- which makes me feel a tightening in my heart," a family member of the unnamed driver said in a statement to Japanese media.

"I can't believe or accept the fact that my father, who was loved by everyone, suddenly disappeared," the statement said.

The number of sinkholes in Japan is rising, topping 10,000 in fiscal 2022. Many of these are sewerage-related in urban areas, a land ministry probe shows.