NASA reported that a giant asteroid will be flying close by the Earth on January 18, 2022. It is over 3500 km wide and is almost 2.5 times the height of the Empire State Building in NewYork. This giant space rock is named Asteroid 7482 (1994 PCI). NASA expects its closest approach to the Earth on January 18 at 4:51 pm. It will pass at a distance of 1.2 million miles from Earth travelling at a speed of around 43,754 miles.
It is classified as potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) due to giant size .However, it will pass by the Earth with a potentially safe distance almost five times the distance of our planet from Moon .Researchers claim that it will pose no threat to the Earth. According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object (CNEOS), it will be the closest to Earth on January 18 .And it would not come this close within the next two decades.
Asteroid 7498 was has been discovered in 1994 by Robert McNaught at a observatory in Australia
Although you cannot spot it with a naked eye , a small telescope will work for the observers.
