A large asteroid is going to fly by Earth next week.
It's a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its size and frequent visits to our planet, and it's about two and a half times the height of the Empire State Building.
This month's visit is going to have a very safe clearance, with the asteroid zipping by at a distance of 1.93 million kilometers away from Earth, which is roughly 5.15 times more distant than the Moon.
There's no risk of colliding with this asteroid because of the 133-kilometer margin of error.
If you're a stargazer, you're in for a treat when it comes to our skies. The closest approach will take place on January 18.
The space rock was first discovered in 1994 by astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.
Scientists were able to find images of it all the way back to September 1974, which is why we are so confident in its path.
The length of time between observations in our night sky is 47 years, which is the length of time between asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1's orbital arcs.
The last close approach was 89 years ago on 17 January 1933PC1). It is expected to be within a similar distance on January 18.
Astronomers will be able to study more about the stony, S-type asteroid, which is part of the Apollo asteroid group.
The most common group of asteroids we know of have the same orbital length to Earth as the Sun, and they all have a similar distance between the two.
The position of the asteroid on January 1. The CC BY 4.0 is from Tomruen/Wikimedia.
The flyby gives amateur astronomer a chance to see the rock.
The asteroid will be traveling at a speed of over forty thousand miles per hour, which makes it look like a star, but it will actually travel across the night sky.
The asteroid is too dim to be seen with the naked eye or binoculars. Eddie Irizarry at EarthSky.org says that if you have a 6-inch backyard telescope, you should be able to see it as it whizzes past.
If you've got a backyard setup, EarthSky has a full guide on how to view and best photograph the asteroid.
It's easy to feel stressed about an asteroid passing close to Earth, since a lot of the world watches Don't Look Up over the holidays. The film taught us to trust the scientists and their calculations.
An asteroid of this size is only predicted to hit Earth once every 600,000 years. NASA is testing its DART mission, which will aim to hit a small asteroid moonlet to try and distract it from its course.
If it works, it could help us to avoid asteroid threats in the future. Let's enjoy the view and look up as PC1 passes by. It's a good idea to remind us of our precarious place in the universe.
