An Asteroid Could Possibly Come Very Close to Earth

A “possibly deadly” Asteroid will collide with Earth Tuesday at a distance of roughly 1.2 million miles, according to astronomers. The 7482 (1994 PC1), which is nearly twice the height of the Empire State Building, will pass closest to Earth on January 18. The is nearly six times the distance between the Earth and the moon, with a distance of 1.2 million miles.

The distance is far enough away that this isn’t considered a near miss, according to Jim Todd, director of space science education at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, but it is attracting a lot of attention because of its magnitude. According to NASA, no Asteroid larger than 140 metres has a good chance of colliding with Earth in the next 100 years. However, NASA estimates that just 40% of those Asteroid have been discovered so far.

Observers have identified around 1,500 near-Earth objects each year since 2015, but NASA believes more work is needed to detect them. Todd concurred, saying that some of the undetected things may be dangerous. Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) is a stony with a diameter of around 3,280 ft. It’s dense, huge, and old, according to Todd. Unfortunately, the will not be visible to the human eye, according to Todd.

People will require at least a 6-inch telescope to see the Asteroid, he said. A lengthy exposure on a camera might also be used to catch it. The would ordinarily be captured by the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California, but it is now out of commission, according to him.