How to Watch Asteroid 1994 PC1 Fly Past Earth Today
This evening, a huge asteroid known as 7482 (1994 PC1) will be approaching us earthlings for the next 200 years. It will fly past us at 47,344 miles per hour, so don’t miss your chance to catch a glimpse of it. Here’s how you can see this once-in-a-lifetime space event, as well as get answers to all your burning questions about space rock.
What happened to this asteroid?
7482 (1994 PC1) was discovered in 1994 . NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies , which tracks potentially dangerous comets and asteroids that could impact our planet, says this is the closest 7482 (1994 PC1) will come close in the next two centuries. .
How close is a “close” asteroid?
Don’t worry: no one expects this asteroid to come close to impacting Earth. In particular, this asteroid will approach no closer than five lunar distances during its closest approach. To put it more clearly: 7482 (1994 PC1) will remain safe at 1.2 million miles, according to NASA’s Twitter account .
How big is a “huge” asteroid?
This asteroid is estimated to be over a kilometer (3,451 feet) wide. This makes it larger than any building on Earth . NASA described 7482 (1994 PC1) as “the size of a bridge”.
When should I watch Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1)?
The asteroid is expected to approach our planet at 4:51 pm ET. Unfortunately, today’s asteroid flyby is unlikely to be visible to the naked eye . Luckily, if you have a small telescope, you should be able to spot it, according to the EarthSky.com website.
If you don’t have access to a telescope, fear not: EarthSky has a live stream here . You can track the movement of the asteroid on NASA’s “Eyes on Asteroids” website here .
Last question: what is an asteroid?
Not to be confused with a comet or meteor, an asteroid is “any of the millions of small celestial objects orbiting the Sun, often irregular in shape and of a wide range of sizes.” In fact, this is space debris left after the formation of the solar system. In disaster movies, a large space rock that could destroy an entire planet is usually an asteroid. But not today. We will live.
For all the exciting news and updates on asteroids and comets, follow @AsteroidWatch on Twitter. Happy contemplation of space.