An asteroid more than 1 kilometer (3,280 feet) across is set to make its closest pass near Earth in nearly a century Tuesday, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
The asteroid, known as 7482 (1994 PC1), is more than twice the size of the Empire State Building. It’s set to pass within 1.2 million miles of Earth at a speed of nearly 44,000 mph just before 5 p.m., according to NASA.
The date will mark the closest the asteroid has come to Earth since 1933, when it passed within about 699,000 miles of the planet, data from NASA shows. Due to its size and the fact that it’s traveling within 4.6 million miles of Earth, 7482 (1994 PC1) has been deemed a “potentially hazardous asteroid,” though it’s not expected to hit the planet.
The asteroid will not come close enough to Earth to spot with the naked eye, though it might be close enough to spot through a telescope as it zooms past Earth, according to EarthSky.org.
The asteroid is next expected to fly by within about 41.2 million miles of Earth early on July 3.
The NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies monitors comets and asteroids that travel relatively near Earth, determining their orbits to predict close approaches.
The largest near-earth object to pass by Earth is known as 3122 Florence (1982 ET3). The roughly 3-mile wide asteroid last passed by the planet on Sept. 1, 2017. It will flyby again on Oct. 1, 2024, according to NASA.
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