According to information provided by NASA, the 1994 PC1 asteroid is about 100 m in diameter, more than twice the size of the New York Empire State Building. Researchers estimate that the object will be closest to Earth by mid-January when is located about 2 million km from our planet. This is almost five times further than the moon is.
The object, although relatively large, will be imperceptible to the naked eye. However, observation of this phenomenon will be possible with the help of telescopes. By the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid was classified as “potentially dangerous object”.
What is asteroid 1994 PC1?
Asteroid 1994 PC1 which orbits the sun every 1.5 years, was first discovered in 1994. by astronomer Robert McNaught, who made his observations at Siding in Australia. Last known such close contact with this one asteroid took place in 1933, when it flew at a distance of over 1 million km.
1994 PC1 won’t be that close to Earth for at least 200 consecutive years. The huge space rock travels at a speed of over 19 km per second in relation to the Earth. The high speed will enable amateur astronomers to spot the asteroid that will appear as a light point, similar to a star.
According to astronomers, its orbit is very well known, ranging from 0.9 to 1.8 AU. One Astronomical Unit is 150 million km, which is the distance between the Earth and the Sun. It is a common rock S-type asteroid, and each time astronomers get close to it, it gives them a chance to observe its surface.
As he claims NASA, asteroid 1994 PC1 will not be the only space rock coming on January 18 – it will be joined over 9-meter-long asteroid 2021 BA, which will be at a distance of 3.7 million km, i.e. almost twice as far as 1994 PC1.
Source: Daily Mail
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