Watch live: Telescopes in Italy showing Asteroid 2020 XR at its closest point with earth

According to the European Space Agency, when the asteroid was discovered four years ago, it was thought that it might collide with earth in 2028. "But by going back and finding the asteroid in older data, they were able to refine its trajectory and rule out any hazard," says the ESA’s Planetary Defense Office. Read more science and technology stories here: https://news.sky.com/science-climate-tech #Asteroid #Earth #science #telescope #italy #Asteroid2020XR SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: http://www.youtube.com/skynews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skynews For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps: Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8 Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GB Sky News Daily podcast is available for free here: https://podfollow.com/skynewsdaily/ Sky News videos are now available in Spanish here/Los video de Sky News están disponibles en español aquí: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzG5BnqHO8oNlrPDW9CYJog To enquire about licensing Sky News content, you can find more information here: https://news.sky.com/info/library-sales