As big as a 14-story building – that’s the size of a newly discovered space rock that is now labeled as a “potentially hazardous asteroid” – which means that it could collide with Earth in the distant future.
Asteroid 2012 QG42 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona on August 26, 2012.
This Thursday – that’s tomorrow evening U.S. time — the asteroid will make a close approach to Earth.
The asteroid is estimated to be 190-430 meters (625-1,400 ft) across and will pass within 7.5 times the Moon’s distance from our planet.
You can get a telescopic glimpse of this object as it zips by Earth, thanks to the Slooh Space Camera live coverage of this celestial event.
Viewers can watch live on their PC or favorite iOS/Android mobile device.
Slooh will be using at least three of its online robotic telescopes to provide live image feeds as the celestial intruder makes its closest approach to Earth throughout the night of September 13-14.
Slooh participants are also investigating the recent impact on Jupiter live from a Canary Islands observatory.
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By Leonard David