A large asteroid near-Earth asteroid called 7482 (1994 PC1) is heading towards Earth and will pass us safely today. It will pass Earth at a safe but wary distance of 19 lakh kilometres, nearly 5 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. NASA Asteroid Watch tweeted along with a link in the caption to track an asteroid on January 12. The tweets have more than 3000 likes and have been retweeted by more than 1000 accounts.
Most people were pleased to monitor the asteroid's trajectory via NASA's website. NASA also revealed how to track the massive asteroid. According to earthsky.org, the brightness of the 7482 (1994 PC1) will be approximately 10. This brightness is lower than the brightness of Venus and other stars visible in the sky with the unaided eye. A 6-inch or larger home telescope can help locate the asteroid, according to the website, but there must be no cloud cover or pollution.
While NASA has stated that the asteroid poses no threat to the Earth, this hasn't prevented people from theorising or making references to the latest Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio film ‘Don't Look Up’.
NASA attempted the first effort to divert an asteroid last year. Between September 26 and October 1, a tiny moonlet called Dimorphos will hit with DART. The moonlet's trajectory is anticipated to be altered by the slight push.
According to NASA, there is no asteroid believed to exist that represents a risk of colliding with Earth within upcoming 100 years. According to NASA's planetary defence website, “the highest risk of impact for a known asteroid is a 1 in 714 chance of impact by an asteroid designated 2009 FD in 2185”.
