An asteroid twice the size of the Empire State Building is passing by today

Asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1 will pass the planet Earth at a safe distance on Tuesday night and can be seen with telescopes. The space rock is 1.1 kilometers wide – nearly twice the size of the Empire State Building – and approaches 76,000 km/h and has been observed by scientists since 1994, after it was deemed “hazardous” by NASA.

Remember that the classification “Potentially Dangerous” was created by NASA to identify asteroids passing near Earth that are large enough to cause significant damage in the event of a collision, as such was observed by scientists, who studied their path in detail.

This Tuesday, (7482) 1994 PC1 will make its closest approach to Earth in the last 200 years, and the distance is safe so as not to cause damage, the North American Space Agency guarantees. The space stone will pass within 1.9 million kilometers from Earth, which is equivalent to five trips between the planet and the moon, and the good news is that it can be observed, not with the naked eye, but with telescopes. According to scientists, the asteroid will appear as a small point of light in the sky and will still be visible at dawn on January 19.

NASA’s “Eyes” website will provide visualizations to track 7482 (1994 PC1) where the Rome-based “Virtual Telescope Project” will host a live broadcast for astronomers.

This would be the closest asteroid to reach Earth since 1933, when it was only 699,000 miles away. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because it won’t come close to Earth until the year 2105.

near the ground #asteroid 1994 PC1 (about 1 km wide) is very well known and has been studied for decades by #PlanetaryDefense experts. Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will fly safely across our planet 1.2 million miles away next Tuesday, January 18th.

Track it yourself here: https://t.co/JMAPWiirZh pic.twitter.com/35pgUb1anq

– NASA Asteroid Watch (AsteroidWatch) January 12 2022