Skywatchers, take note: NASA reports that a “mountain-size” asteroid is set to cruise past us on Monday.
While there is no risk of collision, “it will be a rare astronomically close encounter that backyard telescope owners can watch,” according to National Geographic. Measuring about a third of a mile across, it will come about 745,000 miles from our planet, “about three times the distance separating the Earth and the moon.”
And while many asteroids have come closer, this one will be the largest one to pass until 2027, and is bright enough to offer backyard astronomers a chance to catch a glimpse — that is, if it’s not overcast on Monday.
The best places to see it include North America between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT. It will travel through Hydra and Cancer constellations in the south-southeastern evening sky, making a close pass to the Beehive star cluster. Happy sky-watching.
