A newly discovered house-sized asteroid will get close to the Earth by less than 17,700 km (11,000 miles) on Monday June 27, 2011. That's about 23 times closer than the Moon. The size and location of the asteroid, named 2011 MD, should allow observers in certain locations to take a look at the space rock, even with small telescopes. It's closest approach will be at 13:26 UTC on June 27. NASA analysts said that there is no chance the space rock will strike the Earth. Nevertheless, the encounter is so close that Earth's gravity will sharply perturb the asteroid's trajectory, they said.

At closest approach, 2011 MD will pass in broad daylight over the southern Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Antarctica. As the asteroid recedes from Earth, it will pass through the zone of geosynchronous satellites. "The chances of a collision with a satellite or man-made space junk are extremely small, albeit not zero," NASA said. Judging from the brightness of the asteroid, it measures only 5 to 20 meters in diameter. An object of this size to come this close to Earth happens about every six years on an average. For a brief time, it will be bright enough to be seen even with a medium-sized backyard telescope, NASA said.