Mysterious object expected to whizz past Earth Tuesday

File photo – Mars, left, and the Milky Way are visible in the clear night sky. (Peter Komka/MTI via AP)

 (NEXSTAR) – An object of uncertain origin is expected to hurtle safely past our planet Tuesday, but the object is not a true UFO. Astronomers have been tracking the visitor, known as 2020 SO, since September when it was spotted from an observation station in Hawaii.

Originally thought to be an asteroid, NASA scientists have since suggested that it’s a piece of space junk left over from early U.S. space exploration.

“The object is likely not an asteroid,” NASA officials wrote in a November 12th research update. “It’s probably the Centaur upper stage rocket booster that helped lift NASA’s ill-fated Surveyor 2 spacecraft toward the Moon in 1966.”

NASA officials say the 2020 SO’s orbit did not look like a typical asteroid and much more closely resembled something originating from Earth. Computer modeling helped their team trace the likely origin to the 1966 launch.

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