According to the US space agency, NASA, a big asteroid named 2014 JO25 discovered three years ago will fly past Earth on April 19, 2017. There is no possibility of its collision with our planet however the flyby will be very close for an asteroid of this size, said NASA.
“Although there is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size,” stated NASA.
The asteroid is approximately 2,000 feet in size and will flyby at a safe distance of about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometres), or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon.
Small asteroid flyby earth at this distance several times a week however it will the closest by any known asteroid of this size, or larger, since asteroid Toutatis, a 3.1-mile (five-kilometre) asteroid, which approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004, explained NASA.
It is predicted to brighten to about magnitude 11 and will approach Earth from the direction of the Sun. The asteroid will be visible on April 19 in the night sky and could remain visible in small optical telescope for more than one night before it fades away.
The encounter on April 19 is also the closest this asteroid has come to Earth for at least the last 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years, added NASA. The next known encounter of an asteroid named 1999 AN10 has been predicted in 2027 at one lunar distance. The asteroid is approximately half-a-mile wide (800 meter).