Asteroid to zoom 'damn close' to Earth on Thursday, will also test planetary defense system. An asteroid the size of a house will zoom past the Earth on Thursday at a distance of some 26,000 miles, NASA said. Source 8q
Image from NASA.
12 October, 2017 Asteroid To Pass Near Earth (Hover)
That "Near" is really far away but I guess on another turn it could get closer and closer. I'm glad we have the technology to monitor our space neighbors but at the same time I'm hoping we can remove these things from around us.
Any way you look at it we will have things that are out there traveling through space that can come close to earth. Having the ability and the technology to keep things away from this hunk of rock is a good thing to billions of people. If something large ends up hitting the earth that could have serious effects on our lively hoods.