A massive asteroid will pass by Earth on Tuesday

[Jilly_in_VA]

A "potentially hazardous" asteroid bigger than any building in the world will pass by Earth on Tuesday. Not only is it the biggest known asteroid coming within 2.3 million miles of Earth this year, but it's so massive that you might be able to see it in the sky.

The asteroid, named 1994 PC1, has an estimated width of 3,600 feet, nearly 1,000 feet longer than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. There are over 27,000 known near-Earth objects, which are any space debris that comes within 120.8 million miles of Earth. However, 1994 PC1 is one of 885 near-Earth objects at least 3,280 feet wide. It is one of several massive asteroids to pass by Earth in recent weeks.

First discovered in Aug. 1994, 1994 PC1 is classified as a "potentially hazardous" asteroid because it is an Apollo asteroid, meaning it crosses Earth's orbit.

If it were to hit Earth, it would cause "complete catastrophe" and destroy nearly everything within a 25 mile radius of the impact, says Franck Marchis, Chief Scientific Officer at Unistellar and Senior Planetary Astronomer at the SETI Institute.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/01/13/massive-potentially-hazardous-asteroid-zoom-past-earth/9178074002/

[hedda_foil]

1. Swell. Who had "Asteroid collides with Earth, destroying all life" on their 2022 bingo card?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. If you're reading this, you didn't die.

Home > News > Skywatching

A huge asteroid will fly safely by Earth today. Here's how to watch it live.

By Elizabeth Howell published about 11 hours ago

See the asteroid 1994 PC1 make its closest approach for the next 200 years as it passes 1 million miles from Earth.

You can watch live as a humongous asteroid flies safely past our planet today (Jan. 18).

Italy's Virtual Telescope Project, which is based in Rome, will host a livestream starting at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), when asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) is almost at its closest approach to our planet: 1 million miles or 1.6 million kilometers, closer than it will get for at least 200 years, according to EarthSky.

"The Virtual Telescope Project will show it live online, just at the fly-by time, when it will peak in brightness," stated the livestream page, written by project founder Gianluca Masi.

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