Asteroid bigger than Burj Khalifa to fly by Earth today. Here's how to track
Premium- The asteroid would be passing within 1.2 million miles of the earth moving at 47,344 miles per hour, NASA said
A giant asteroid that is estimated to be a kilometer wide, even bigger than the world's largest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, will fly by Earth today. It would be passing within 1.2 million miles of the Earth, moving at a speed of 47,344 miles per hour, pointed out NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies that which tracks potentially hazardous comets.
First discovered in 1994, asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) won't be hitting the Earth, but it's the closest it will come for the next two centuries. The asteroid is expected to be at its nearest to our planet at 4.51 p.m. ET.
“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 tweet reads.
NASA also shared the link to track the path of the asteroid. Here is how you can track it: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/asteroids/z
NASA also pointed out, though quite large in size, 7482 (1994 PC1) isn't the largest asteroid to fly by the earth. Asteroid 3122 Florence (1981 ET3), which is asteroid is estimated to be between 2.5 miles and 5.5 miles wide, flew by and missed colliding with Earth on September 1, 2017. It will make another pass on September 2, 2057.
This giant asteroid will be visible by a good telescope. Apart from that one can watch this asteroid on their gadgets via the NASA Eyes on Asteroid portal. This can also be tracked on Virtual Telescope Project's website.
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