Asteroid thrice the size of an aeroplane to pass right by Earth on August 22: NASA

Just like the Earth, Asteroid 2020 QW3 also orbits the Sun. It takes 732 days for this asteroid to complete an orbit. Its distance from the Sun is 321 million kilometres, according to Sky.org. Meanwhile, the asteroid's distance from the Earth is estimated at 8.96 million kilometres. In the past few years, several asteroids from the Apollo group have flown past the Earth. However, Asteroid 2020 QW3 is from the Amor group.

Asteroids are rocky celestial objects that orbit the Sun. They are smaller compared to planets. According to experts, in the event of an asteroid hitting the Earth, there could be significant damage. The possible outcomes of an asteroid colliding with the Earth could be -- shock waves, heat radiation, formation of craters with associated earthquakes, and tsunamis (if water bodies are hit).

Given this threat, NASA is working on a mission -- Double Asteroid Detection Test (DART) -- to prepare itself for such a possibility. The space agency would try to deflect the asteroid by smashing a spacecraft into it at a speed of 23,000 kmph if it feels that Earth may suffer a hit.