Skywatchers will get a rare chance this weekend to track a massive asteroid as it streaks past Earth — not as a threat, but as a target for anyone with a small telescope or large binoculars, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.
The object will make its closest pass at about 12.15am Irish time on Saturday, coming within 2,560,000 kilometres of Earth. Even at that distance, it will remain safely far away — more than six times the gap between Earth and the Moon.
The asteroid, designated (152637) 1997 NC1, will be travelling at nearly nine kilometres per second. ESA said there is no danger to the planet, noting that any possibility of an impact has been ruled out.
First spotted in 1997, (152637) 1997 NC1 is thought to measure between 750 and 1,650 metres across. Those estimates are based on calculations using its reflectivity — essentially, how much sunlight its surface bounces back.
“A close approach to Earth by an object this size only occurs every few years, although this time the bright nearby Moon might impede its observability at closest approach,” Juan Luis Cano of the ESA’s Planetary Defence Office said in a statement.
ESA said observers in parts of the Northern Hemisphere should be able to see the asteroid as it approaches. It is expected to be visible from almost everywhere as it passes Earth, before becoming a Southern Hemisphere sight as it moves away.
How well it can be spotted will ultimately depend on conditions on the ground, with ESA noting that dark skies will be crucial as the asteroid makes its flyby.
