(CNN) — An asteroid that is one kilometer wide is estimated to fly close to Earth on January 18.
It will pass 1.9 million kilometers from our planet, moving at 76,192 km / h, according to the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which tracks potentially dangerous comets and asteroids that might collide with our planet.
The approaching asteroid is known as 7482 (1994 PC1) and was discovered in 1994, according to NASA.
No one expects 7482 (1994 PC1) to hit Earth, but it’s the closest the asteroid will get in the next two centuries, according to NASA projections. The overflight is expected to take place this Tuesday, January 18 at 4:51 p.m. Miami time.
Not the biggest
It will not be the largest asteroid to ever come close to Earth. That honor belongs to asteroid 3122 Florence (1981 ET3), which flew past and did not collide with Earth on September 1, 2017. This asteroid is estimated to be between 4 and 8.85 kilometers wide, and will pass once more on September 2. September 2057.
While 7482 (1994 PC1) is unlikely to be visible to the naked eye, amateur astronomers with a small telescope should be able to detect it, according to the EarthSky.com website.
In September this year, a NASA spacecraft will deliberately collide with an asteroid to change its motion in space – a test technology developed to deflect an asteroid impact.
Known as the DART mission, or the double asteroid redirection test, the spacecraft targets Dimorphos, a small moon that orbits the near-Earth asteroid Didymos.
Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets with orbits that place them within 30 million miles of Earth. Detecting the threat from near-Earth objects, or NEOs, that might cause serious damage is a primary focus of NASA and other space organizations around the world.
CNN’s Ashley Strickland contributed to this report.
