By Alex Mallin, Courtesy of Newsy.com From wpxi.com

Amid all the government shutdowns, fiscal crises and other worldly problems, it’s easy to forget the everyday dangers floating around us. By us, we mean Earth. And by dangers, we mean massive asteroids.

1300-foot asteroid, but you might know it better by its other name: armageddon. (Via Buena Vista Pictures / “Armageddon”)

No, we’re just kidding. Well, maybe … probably … hopefully?

Two Ukrainian scientists spotted the asteroid passing Earth last month. After taking a closer look at its future trajectory, they say there’s a slight chance we might not be so lucky the next time around. Scientists say that same asteroid will take another pass in 19 years. (Via ABC, NASA)

And by slight we mean very slight. As in a-1-in-63,000-chance slight. And NASA says that’s even overreaching. The space agency says it’s 99.998 percent certain we have nothing to worry about. (Via NASA)

But what about that other .002 percent? Well, we won’t find out about that until around 2028 when scientists predict they’ll be able to track it. You couldn’t exactly call the asteroid a close call. It missed Earth by about 4.2 million miles. (Via New York Daily News)

Compare that to just this past February when a smaller asteroid missed Earth by a little more than 17,000 miles. But it’s not just the close calls that keep some astronomers up at night. (Via The Weather Channel)

Back in February, you might remember the meteor that injured hundreds in Russia when it exploded with the force of about 30 nuclear bombs over the city of Chelyabinsk. (Via RT)

Scientists had zero warning of the 10,000-ton meteor’s descent to Earth, which led many to question just how vulnerable the Earth is to other floating space rocks. (Via Discovery)

Still, for now it seems we can hold off on the call to Bruce Willis and keep the Aerosmith CD tucked away, at least for another 19 years. If we’re not so lucky in 2032, well … humanity had a good run.

PHOTO: Earth as photographed from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in December 1972. (AP Photo/NASA)

Related story:

Large asteroid to buzz Earth in 2032, but poses little threat, NASA says

By Denise Chow, Staff Writer From Space.com

A recently discovered 1,300-foot-wide (400 meters) asteroid that passed near Earth last month could pay the planet another close visit in 2032. But, NASA officials say there is nothing to fear, as the odds that the space rock will hit Earth are extremely slim.

The asteroid (named 2013 TV135) was discovered on Oct. 8, by astronomers at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Ukraine. Several weeks before it was spotted, however, the huge space rock flew within 4.2 million miles (6.7 million kilometers) of Earth on Sept. 16.

Many details of the asteroid’s orbital path are still unknown, but astronomers estimate it could be back in Earth’s neighborhood in less than 20 years. Still, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office, which monitors potential threats to the planet, says the probability that 2013 TV135 will impact Earth is only one in 63,000. [Video: Asteroid 2013 TV135’s Near-Earth Flyby]

“To put it another way, that puts the current probability of no impact in 2032 at about 99.998 percent,” Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement.

The attached diagram shows the orbit of asteroid 2013 TV135 (in blue), which has just a 1-in-63,000 chance of impacting Earth. Its risk to Earth will likely be further downgraded as scientists continue their investigations.

Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechView full size image

In the coming months, astronomers will continue to study 2013 TV135 in order to improve calculations of the space rock’s orbit. Once more is understood about the asteroid, NASA scientists expect the risk of impact with Earth will be dramatically reduced, or even eliminated.

“This is a relatively new discovery,” Yeomans said. “With more observations, I fully expect we will be able to significantly reduce, or rule out entirely, any impact probability for the foreseeable future.”

Initial observations of 2013 TV135 indicate that it follows an orbit that takes it as close to the sun as Earth, before swinging out three-quarters of the distance to Jupiter’s orbit.

Astronomers who have been monitoring 2013 TV135 say it takes almost four years for the space rock to complete one full orbit.

NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office is tasked with finding, tracking and characterizing asteroids and comets that may pose a threat to the planet. Yeoman and his colleagues use telescopes on the ground and in space to plot the orbital positions of these objects over time. Since Oct. 14, a whopping total of 10,332 near-Earth objects have been newly discovered.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.space.com/23260-asteroid-2013-tv135-flyby-nasa.html