Heard about the giant doomsday asteroid set to strike Earth this month, wiping out life as we know it?
Don't cancel your weekend plans, NASA said.
Rumors of an asteroid strike have been spreading online since late last year when scientists confirmed they'd spotted a large asteroid with the catchy name of 2016 WF9. The rumors claimed the asteroid was on a collision path for Earth, likely to hit around Feb. 16 or 17 in the area of New York City.
But NASA said WF9 will soar by without incident.
"This pass will not bring it particularly close," NASA said after the asteroid's discovery. "The trajectory of 2016 WF9 is well understood, and the object is not a threat to Earth for the foreseeable future."
The asteroid is on what NASA described as a "scenic tour" of the solar system, traveling from Jupiter's through the orbit of Mars on a path to Earth.
The space rock's closest approach to Earth will happen on Feb. 25 when it will pass by at a distance of about 32 million miles. After that, the rock - believed to be as large as 0.6 miles wide - will safely head back to the outer solar system, according to NASA.
While Earth is safe, WF9 is drawing the attention of scientists due to its interesting history.
"2016 WF9 could have cometary origins," said Deputy Principal Investigator James Bauer at JPL. "This object illustrates that the boundary between asteroids and comets is a blurry one."