Asteroid the size of Mount Everest set to fly by Earth next month

An asteroid half the size of Mount Everest is heading towards Earth next month, but scientists say it is not expected to collide with us.

The object, called 52768 (1998 OR2), is 1 to 2.5 miles wide and will pass within 3,908,791 miles, moving at 19,461 miles per hour.

The asteroid was first discovered by NASA in 1998, and is said to be 'large enough to cause global effects' if it were to hit Earth.

The flyby is expected for Wednesday, April 29 at 4:56 AM ET, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies that tracks Near-Earth Objects (NEAT) that could collide with Earth.

The discovery of 52768 came on the heels of NASA installing 'new state-of-the-art computing and data analysis hardware that speeds our search for near-Earth objects,' said NEAT Project Manager Dr. Steven Pravdo of JPL, in a statement.

The asteroid orbits the sun every 1,340 days, or 3.67 years and completes a rotation on its axis every 4.11 days, CNN first reported.