'Mystery object' from space to whizz close by Earth

Melbourne, Jan 13 (ANI): Astronomers will have the opportunity to take a good look at a "mystery object" which has been orbiting the Earth when it passes 130,000km of our planet at 12:48 GMT.

The object, named 2010 AL30, is about 10-15m long and has been quite discussed in scientific circles.

Some scientists believe the object is man-made while some say it may be a small asteroid.

According to Italian scientists Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero, the object had an orbital period of nearly a year and could be a spent rocket booster.

However, Alan Harris at the US Space Science Institute pointed out that the object had a "perfectly ordinary Earth-crossing orbit".

"Unlikely to be artificial, its orbit doesn't resemble any useful spacecraft trajectory, and its encounter velocity with Earth is not unusually low," the Courier Mail quoted him as, posting to The Minor Planet Mailing List.

Astronomers will be able to see the object shining with a brightness similar to that of Pluto.

NASA's Solar System Dynamics website says it will appear moving through the constellations of Orion, Taurus and Pisces. (ANI)