Large asteroid expected to fly by Earth may be visible with backyard telescopes

A 3,451-foot asteroid is passing by Earth this week, and you might be able to see it with a backyard telescope.

Asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1, with a diameter larger than two Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other, will pass roughly 1.2 million miles from the Earth at 3:51 p.m. Tuesday. The approach will be the closest for this asteroid for at least the next 200 years, according to EarthSky.org.

The asteroid is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid because it's larger than 460 feet and has an orbit that brings it within 4.6 million miles of Earth's orbit around the Sun.

It will be visible in North America hours after its closest approach. According to EarthSky.org, stargazers with a small telescope should be able to detect the asteroid's motion. The website suggested attaching a camera to the telescope and taking exposures of 30 to 45 seconds. This should show the asteroid's motion as a streak of light.

To ensure the camera/telescope are pointed in the right place, EarthSky recommends pointing it at certain stars the asteroid will pass. This is best done with a computerized telescope that automatically points at astronomical objects.

Point the telescope at star HIP 8210 around 6:25 p.m.; galaxy IC 1723 around 6:45 p.m.; star HIP 7620 around 7:45 p.m.; star HIP 7184 around 8:35 p.m.; and star HIP 7011 around 9 p.m.

This asteroid won't hit Earth this week, but NASA is practicing a deflection technique in the fall should a future asteroid make an even closer approach.

NASA will crash a spacecraft into a 525foot asteroid to prove a well-timed nudge could alter an asteroid's orbit.

This mission is a test — the asteroid it's hitting does not pose a risk to Earth — and is hoping to prove technologies that might one day prevent widespread destruction here on Earth.