A massive asteroid with a diameter of 1km, bigger than the world’s largest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is coming close to the Earth on Tuesday.
Asteroid 1994 PC1 was discovered on Aug. 9, 1994, by astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran, Australia.
Scientists have been studying the asteroid for the last decade and have classified the stony asteroid 1994 PC1 as a near-earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid in the Apollo group.
“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 Tweeted on Jan. 12.
NASA has confirmed that this asteroid will come the closest to Earth for the next two centuries. The 1994 PC1 is supposed to fly past Earth with a speed of 47,344 miles per hour at a distance of 1.2 million miles away from Earth.
At this distance, this will be a safe flyby, and the closest one the asteroid will make of Earth in the next 200 years, according to EarthSky.
It will pass within 0.01324 astronomical units (1,230,734 miles) of Earth at 4:51 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
This massive asteroid will be visible by a good telescope or you can watch online via the NASA Eyes on Asteroid portal.
