Giant Asteroid Over Twice As Big As Empire State Building Will Fly By On Jan 18. Here Is How You Can Watch It

The asteroid, designated as 7482 (1994 PC1), is believed to be around 2.5 times the height of the Empire State Building.

New Delhi: A giant asteroid is heading towards Earth. It will fly by the planet on January 18, 2022, NASA's Center for Near Earth Studies said. The asteroid has been designated as 7482 (1994 PC1). 

It is believed to be more than 2.5 times the height of the Empire State Building in New York, US, according to a report on earthsky.org. 

It has a diameter of 1.052 kilometres, and a rotation period of around 2.6 hours, according to NASA. The asteroid is of the size of the Golden Gate Bridge in California, US, according to EarthSky.

The space agency has classified it as a potentially hazardous asteroid due its size and relatively close flybys of our planet. 

An asteroid (near-Earth object) as big as this strikes Earth approximately once every 600,000 years. However, people need not be worried about 1994 PC1 despite its close approach because it is safely pass Earth, the earthsky.org report said.

About Asteroid 7482 (PC1) 

The potentially hazardous asteroid was discovered by Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia on August 9, 1994. 

Astronomers had observed the asteroid earlier as well, with some observations dating back to September 1974. The astronomers were aware of its trajectory and have determined its orbit using 47 years of observations. Astronomers have calculated the orbit of the asteroid for the next 200 years.

The asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth on January 18, at 4:51 pm EST (January 19 at 3:21 am IST), according to the EarthSky. This will be the closest approach for the asteroid for at least the next 200 years. 

The asteroid will pass by Earth at a distance of 1.2 million miles or 1.93 million kilometres. This is 5.15 times the Earth-Moon distance. 

Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) is travelling at a speed of 43,754 miles per hour or 19.56 kilometres per second relative to Earth. Amateur astronomers can view the asteroid using a backyard telescope, and can spot it due to its considerable speed. Also, the asteroid will shine at a magnitude of around 10. Observers using a 6-inch or larger backyard telescope from a dark sky site can get a decent view of an object at 10th magnitude, according to EarthSky.

How To Observe The Asteroid?

People may use a small telescope to see the asteroid, and make sure that their equipment is pointed at the correct time and location. 

One may attach a camera to the telescope and take exposures of 30 to 45 seconds. The person must point the camera and telescope at a reference star or object in the trajectory of the asteroid. 

In an image which has been exposed for several seconds, one can see the space rock's motion as a streak of light. In images with shorter exposures, the asteroid will be seen as points of light appearing in different locations in the images.

Some people may use the Finder maps provided by EarthSky to determine the location of the asteroid, at 4:55 am IST, 5:15 am IST, 6:15 am IST, 7:05 am IST, and 7:30 am IST on January 19. 

At 4:55 am IST on January 19, people can use a computerised or GoTo Telescope, and point the instrument at the reference star HIP 8210 to easily detect the asteroid, which will appear as a "slowly moving star" in front of the reference stars. 

At 5:15 am IST, one can point the GoTo telescope at the faint galaxy IC 1723 to locate the asteroid.

Similarly, observers can use the stars HIP 7620, HIP 7184, and HIP 7011 as the reference stars at 6:15 am, 7:05 am, and 7:30 am IST respectively.