Two Asteroids to Zoom Past Earth on Saturday

Two asteroids 2013 EC20 and 2013 ET will zoom pass the Earth on Saturday, and one of them is said to be bigger than the meteor which crashed into Russia last month.

Observers have ruled out possibility of any collision with the planet.

The 2013 EC20, a Catalina Sky Survey discovery, will pass Moscow at 5.57 am on Saturday. The asteroid measuring 3 to 12 metres will be at a distance of 169,000km from the planet while passing the planet said Minor Planet Centre (Massachusetts).

There will be a 9.5 hour gap until the 2013 ET passes later in the same day about 972,000 km close to earth. The 2013 ET is bigger than the 2013 EC20 and varies between 45-140 metres is size.

"It's a pretty good size, but it's not getting that close, at least by recent standards," said Don Yeomans, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory California.

He also said the asteroid is already visible in the night sky with amateur telescopes and will appear in daytime as it gets closer.

Only last month, Russia saw a large meteor explosion which left more than 1000 people injured largely from shattering glass due to the explosion.

The meteor measuring 17 to 20 metres hit Russia's Chelyabinsk Region.

A comet called Pan-STARRS will also be visible on March 13 with the help of binoculars. It will pass close to Sun on March 10. Another comet ISON will follow on November. But none of the comets hold any threat to the planet.