Earth-killing asteroid to whiz by on April 19. Here's why it's a big deal

One impact from such an asteroid will destory civilization as we know it.

A massive asteroid, the largest in a decade, will pass close to the Earth on April 19. There is no danger to Earth, but it is a reminder that asteroids pose a significant risk to human civilization.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Asteroid 2014 JO25 will pass by the Earth on April 19, at the comfortable distance of five times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. That's over four million miles beyond the Moon.

What makes this asteroid notable is its size and the fact it is coming closer than any other asteroid of similar size for the next ten years.

What if this humble rock were to strike Earth?

Asteroid 2014 JO25 is sixty times larger than the meteor that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013. That asteroid sent over 1,000 people to the hospital, despite blowing up high in the atmosphere.

Should the asteroid hit Earth, it would impact the ground. The shockwave and impact would destroy even a large city. The dust and soot cast into the air by the cratering and subsequent fires would blanket the Earth, cooling the surface temperature and disrupting weather patterns.

Famine in the wake of such a disaster isn't just likely, it's inevitable. The economic shock would also disrupt the world causing financial disaster for billions of people.

By the time the world recovered, possibly years later, millions to billions of lives could be lost in the disaster.

NASA and other world agencies are working to deal with this problem before it happens. Telescopes around the world monitor the sky, looking for asteroids that cross Earth's orbit and potentially threaten us. Scientists think they've discovered most, but not all, of these threats. There's also a chance that a comet or asteroid from farther away could fall towards Earth.

The likelihood of such an event is extremely small, but it is also inevitable, given enough time. And when it does happen, it could destroy the planet. Therefore, a robust program to deal with any threats is prudent.

Should such a threat develop, engineers think they can redirect the asteroid out of harm's way, if given enough time. If there is no time, then humans may have to figure out a way to survive the impact and the difficult years that will surely follow.