A giant asteroid will soar past Earth — soon

[Garrison L. Hilliard]

Three years ago, astronomers discovered a huge asteroid that's twice
as reflective as the moon, according to a statement by NASA. The space
rock, named 2014 JO25, is 2,000 feet in diameter, or roughly the size
of two Chrysler Buildings stacked on top of each other.

This April, 2014 JO25 will fly by our precious planet, but as NASA
noted, "There is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with" us.
That's both reassuring and devastating news, depending on your
viewpoint on the current state of global affairs.

The asteroid will zoom by Earth at a distance of 1.1 million miles, or
just about five times the distance between the Earth and the moon.

"The encounter on April 19 is the closest this asteroid has come to
Earth for at least the last 400 years and will be its closest approach
for at least the next 500 years," the NASA statement says.

If you have a small telescope, you should be able to view the
ginormous hunk o' space debris for one or two nights after its April
19 fly-by, because, just like your love life, it will brighten to
about a magnitude of 11 before fading as it continues to soar farther
from the Earth, according to NASA.

How to watch the fly-by

If you're a cool space nerd with no telescope, fear not: The Virtual
Telescope Project 2.0 will share real-time images of the asteroid
online along with commentary from its staff.

Starting at 7 p.m. EDT on April 19, online astronomy service Slooh
will host a live show after 2014 JO25 zooms by the Earth, Gizmodo
reported.


https://mic.com/articles/173734/asteroid-2017-fly-by-watch-the-whopping-lustrous-space-rock-2014-jo25-soar-past-earth#.lcJzbcIpI