With everyone recently binging “Don’t Look Up” it may be a little too soon for the news of a “potentially hazardous” asteroid closely passing Earth. However, NASA reported earlier last week that a near-Earth asteroid known as 7482 (1994 PC1) will fly past Earth today, January 18th, 2022.
NASA assured everyone that the asteroid will safely pass from 1.2 million miles away. Now to us that might sound very far, yet NASA classifies any asteroid as “potentially hazardous” if it is more than 460 feet in size within an orbit of 4.6 million miles. This 7482 asteroid is not only within the orbit range, but it sizes up to one kilometer wide—twice the size of the Empire State Building! According to Forbes, “The 2022 flyby is the closest asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1 has come to Earth since 1933 and for the next 200 years.”
The Empire State Building even took to Twitter sharing:
We would like to formally disavow the meteor that is the size of the Empire State Building hurtling past Earth today
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) January 18, 2022
NASA continued to put our minds at ease by Tweeting that Earth faces no known threat from an asteroid for at least the next 100 years.
FACT: There is no known threat from any asteroid for at least the next 100 years.
Our Planetary Defense Coordination Office constantly monitors potential threats from asteroids and other Near-Earth Objects. Follow @AsteroidWatch for updates. https://t.co/2Ym48RH37k
— NASA (@NASA) January 13, 2022
Those interested in following asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) can track it live here.
According to data from the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the closest approach to Earth occurred at 4:51 p.m. EST today, as reported by Space.com. Therefore, just as NASA had stated, we can rest assured that we are safe from any imminent danger from space.