Potentially dangerous asteroid set to pass close to Earth

A potentially dangerous asteroid is set to pass close to the Earth. The asteroid has around a one-kilometre diameter.
The near-Earth Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) will pass by on Tuesday, January 18. At its closest, the asteroid is expected to only be two million kilometres from the earth. NASA’s planetary defence experts have been studying the asteroid. Despite it being classed as a “potentially dangerous” asteroid it is not in danger of colliding with the Earth, according to the experts.
The asteroid is one of the Apollo asteroids. It was discovered by Robert H. McNaught from the Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, in August 1994.
NEOCC astronomer Marco Micheli has said that the asteroid will be visible from Earth. He commented: “The best opportunity from Spain will be on the night of 18 January, for a couple of hours after sunset.” Stargazers will need telescopes or binoculars though and “a good knowledge of the sky.”
Speaking to La Vanguardia expert Josep Maria Trigo explained: “On its approach to Earth the asteroid will begin to be seen in the southern hemisphere and, therefore, will not be visible in our latitudes until the night of 18-19 January.”
NASA took to Twitter and said: “Near-Earth #asteroid 1994 PC1 (~1 km wide) is very well known and has been studied for decades by our #PlanetaryDefense experts. Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will safely fly past our planet 1.2 million miles away next Tues., Jan. 18.
“Track it yourself here: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/asteroids/ ”

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