Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) won’t be this close to Earth for another 200 years.
On Tuesday (Jan. 18, 2022), the asteroid more than two times the size of the Empire State Building will go zipping by the Earth. The space rock will fly by about 4:50 p.m. ET.
While NASA considers it a “potentially hazardous object” traveling nearly 44,000 miles per hour, it will be far away so don’t be worried. It won’t even come as close as the Moon. It will be 1.2 million miles away, which is relatively close compared to most objects of its size.
Near-Earth #asteroid 1994 PC1 (~1 km wide) is very well known and has been studied for decades by our #PlanetaryDefense experts. Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will safely fly past our planet 1.2 million miles away next Tues., Jan. 18.
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) January 12, 2022
Track it yourself here: https://t.co/JMAPWiirZh pic.twitter.com/35pgUb1anq
It measures more than a kilometer in width -- about 3,450 feet.
Because it’s so far away, you won’t be able to see it with the naked eye but maybe with a small telescope.
This is the first time it will pass by this year, but it will be over 41.2 million miles away when it passes again in July. So this time in January is when to try to catch a glimpse with a telescope.
More: Science news
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