A virtual observatory was able to catch a glimpse of the massive space rock classified by NASA as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) as it narrowly missed Earth during its flyby last week. Based on the data collected by NASA, the object is bigger than the tallest man-made skyscraper in the world.

On Friday, the Virtual Telescope Project released live feed footage of an asteroid known as 162082 (1998 HL1) as it zipped past the planet. According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid flew past Earth at a speed of about 25,000 miles per hour.

The agency estimated that the asteroid is about 3,248 feet wide, making it significantly bigger than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which currently holds the record for the tallest man-made structure in the world.

It was classified by NASA as a PHA due to its size and its natural orbit. According to the agency, 162082 (1998 HL1) is an Apollo asteroid, which means its orbit occasionally intersects with that of Earth.

“Potentially Hazardous Asteroids are currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid’s potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth. Specifically, all asteroids with a minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.05 astronomical units or less and an absolute magnitude of 22.0 or less are considered PHAs,” NASA said in a statement.

In the video released by the Virtual Telescope Project, the asteroid’s trajectory can be seen as it travels around the Sun. On Oct. 25 at around 1:21 pm EDT, 162082 (1998 HL1) reached its closest distance to Earth. The video shows how close the asteroid got to Earth. According to CNEOS, the asteroid approached the planet at a distance of about 0.04155 astronomical units or roughly 3.9 million miles away.

Aside from the asteroid’s trajectory, the Virtual Telescope Project was also able to capture actual footage of the asteroid as it flew past Earth. In the images released by the organization, the asteroid can be seen as a small dot in the middle of the whitish trails left by stars. According to the Virtual Telescope Project, telescopes from Earth were able to spot the asteroid due to its immense size.

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Pictured; an artistic illustration of an asteroid flying by Earth. NASA
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