According to CNET, NASA recently estimated that a space rock the size of a great pyramid may hit our planet on May 6, even saying that the impact is "possible". The asteroid was included in the ESA near earth object coordination center's list of significant risks, but it was kicked out of the top 10 in February It is thought to have a one in four thousand chance of hitting the earth in a close flyover in May, but the new data reduce the risk to one in 1.7 million
As the name suggests, the asteroid JF1 was first observed in 2009, but then researchers lost interest in it and could not well understand its orbital path and how close it might be to the earth. Since then, the tools for determining the asteroid's orbit have been improved, and a review of the existing data has focused on the asteroid's risk level.
ESA said in February: "... This asteroid has now lost its prominence on our risk list and has been downgraded along with other more conventional objects, posing the smallest threat." The asteroid is estimated to be about 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter, or about the size of a school bus. That's quite small. ESA even described the possible impact as "not worthy of attention".
In order to bring the asteroid's proximity into view, the asteroid miss information twitter account translated its distance from the earth into other terms. For example, it is expected to be able to hold 898 moons between the earth and asteroids.
The asteroid threat is not an illusion. There have been significant impacts in the past, but there is no need to worry about every stone flying through nearby space. As Eric Mack of CNET explains, we don't usually have to worry about the headlines. This is why astronomers are focused on finding and tracking new celestial bodies and are committed to planetary defense missions.