An enormous asteroid will safely pass Earth this afternoon just before 4 PM CT.  Its estimated size is over half a mile in diameter (3,280 feet) which is two-and-a-half times the height of the Empire State Building.

It has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid due to its size and relatively close flybys of our planet. An asteroid of this size strikes Earth approximately every 600,000 years.

This afternoon’s approach will be the closest for this asteroid (named (7482) 1994 PC1) for at least the next 200 years.

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How close will it get to Earth? At 3:51 this afternoon (Central Time) it will be around 1.2 million miles away from us --- which is just over 5x the distance we are from the moon. It’s close enough that it could be seen with a small backyard telescope, however with a full moon, it will make it difficult to spot. This is the closest it will pass by Earth for the next 172 years. In 1933 it was MUCH closer – just over half a million miles away from the moon.

How fast is it traveling? 43,754 miles per hour relative to Earth.

You can track it LIVE via YouTube:

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