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Asteroid Passing By Earth May Be Worth $5.4 Trillion

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- An asteroid that could contain trillions of dollars' worth of precious platinum is set to zoom past Earth Sunday.

Asteroid 2011 UW-158, which is approximately 1,500 feet wide, is estimated to contain $5.4 trillion worth of platinum, Science Alert reported, but technology to mine the asteroid has yet to be developed.

The asteroid will pass Earth at a distance of about six times the distance from Earth to the moon, and won't be visible to the naked eye.  However, an online observatory will be using their telescopes in the Canary Islands to broadcast video of the asteroid as it passes Earth.

The live video can be seen here at 3 p.m.


By Gregg Rosenblum - Follow him on Twitter

 

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