On Tuesday, a large asteroid will pass Earth within the moon's orbit, giving scientists a rare close-up of a space rock that could hold valuable clues to our planet's origins as well as our potential interplanetary future.

On Nov. 8, asteroid 2005 YU55 will come within approximately 201,700 miles of Earth, according to NASA. That's 0.85 the distance from Earth to the moon.

This one is 1,300 feet wide -- the size of an aircraft carrier. The last time an asteroid this big passed by was in 1976; the next one will be in 2028, NASA predicts.


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