Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR Image caption This composite of 30 images of asteroid 2014 JO25 was generated using Nasa's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert

A large asteroid the size of the Rock of Gibraltar has passed safely by Earth.

The object, measured to be almost a kilometre wide, came within five times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Known as 2014 JO25, the asteroid is the biggest such space rock to skim our world since 2004.

Astronomers say the best opportunity to view the rock will come in the dark hours of Wednesday night.

Radar imagery using Nasa's 70m (230 ft) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California reveal a peanut-shaped asteroid that rotates about once every five hours.

The asteroid passed Earth at a distance of 1.8 million km (1.1 million miles) at 13:24 BST on Wednesday, 19 April.

The next known encounter of an asteroid of about this size will occur in 2027 when the 800m-wide (half-mile-wide) asteroid 1999 AN10 will fly by at one lunar distance, about 380,000 km (236,000 miles).</s>A 2,000-foot-long asteroid, almost twice the size of the Rose Bowl, will zip safely past Earth on Wednesday at a distance of about 1.1 million miles, about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon.

Although there is no possibility the asteroid, with the ungainly name of 2014 JO25, could collide with our planet, it will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size, NASA said.

“Close is kind of a relative term,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Lada said. “The closest it’s going to be to the Earth is more than a million miles away.”

It's the closest this asteroid has come to Earth for at least the past 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years.

NASA said the approach is the closest by any known asteroid of this size since the 3.1-mile-wide asteroid Toutatis approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004. Not until 2027 will we have another shot at seeing a big rock tumble so close by, Sky and Telescope said.



 The asteroid is so massive that astronomy website Slooh.com nicknamed it after popular movie star Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock.

The flyby should also be visible with amateur telescopes, beginning in the early morning hours on Wednesday and then again that night, according to EarthSky.org. Wednesday morning, it can be spotted in the northern sky near the constellation of Draco.

Wednesday night, asteroid 2014 JO25 will pass though the constellations Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices in the eastern sky.

The asteroid was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Ariz.</s>A 2,000-foot wide asteroid is passing by the Earth on Wednesday at a distance of of 1.1 million miles, making it one of closet approaches by an asteroid of this size in this decade.

The asteroid, 2014 JO25, will be about 4 times the distance of the moon as it makes it closest approach to Earth. The asteroid poses no risk to the Earth, NASA said.

NASA said that the asteroid will be visible with a small telescope Wednesday and Thursday nights.

According to NASA, 2014 JO25 is the closest an asteroid of its size will come to the Earth until 2027, when the half-mile-wide asteroid 1999 AN10 will fly by at just 225,000 miles away from the Earth.

2014 JO25 is on a path from the outer reaches of the solar system, past Earth's orbit. It will continue to pass by the Earth, but not coming close to the Earth again for another 500 years.</s>A large asteroid is hurtling toward Earth -- but there's no need to duck and cover.

The space rock, known by the very dull name of 2014 JO25, will safely fly by Earth on April 19, according to NASA. The chances of it pounding our planet and leaving us for the dead? Zero, experts say.

"Although there is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size," NASA said in a statement.

What size are we talking about? Measurements taken by NASA's NEOWISE space probe indicate the asteroid is about 2,000 feet (650 meters) in size. That's about 670 yards (613 meters), or about the length of six NFL football fields.

And how close is "very close"? NASA says this rock will come about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers) from Earth. That's about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon. The moon, by the way, is about 239,000 miles (384,400 kilometers) from Earth.

While several small asteroids pass within this distance of Earth a few times a week, this is the closest by any known asteroid of this size or bigger in 13 years -- since asteroid Toutatis in 2004, according to the space agency.

Can you see asteroid 2014 JO25? Well, maybe. This asteroid has a reflective surface and you might be able to see it with a telescope.

"The asteroid will approach Earth from the direction of the sun and will become visible in the night sky after April 19," NASA said.

If you don't have your own telescope, you can watch the asteroid online.

Astronomers discovered 2014 J025 three years ago (you guessed it in 2014). This will be its closest encounter with Earth for the last 400 years. NASA said telescopes around the world will be trained on it during the flyby to try to learn more about it.

"Radar observations are planned at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and the resulting radar images could reveal surface details as small as a few meters," NASA said.

If you head out to try to spot the asteroid, you might also want to check out comet PanSTARRS (C/2015 ER61). It also is making its closest approach to Earth -- coming about 109 million miles (175 million kilometers) from the planet. NASA said it's visible in the dawn sky with binoculars or a small telescope.</s>Other than its impressive size for a near-Earth asteroid, little was known about JO25. It was discovered in 2014 by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, part of NASA and the University of Arizona's Near Earth Object (NEO) Observations Project, who were really only able to discern its size and orbit – and that it has a perplexingly reflective surface.

But as the asteroid approached Earth, we learned more about it. It has a "peanut"-esque shape. It's larger than previously estimated, with the size upped from 2,000 feet across to 3,280.

In addition to Slooh, NASA and the National Science Foundation announced their intentions to observe the mysterious asteroid with their radio telescopes. The Minor Planet Center has designated JO25 as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid, as all space rocks at least one kilometer (0.6 miles) across that come within 4.3 million miles of Earth are.

It also means that there's a non-zero chance of it striking Earth one day – although that chance is still extremely low. Even if JO25 slams into Earth on its next close approach, that won't be until the 26th century or so.

"Although there is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid this size," NASA said in a statement. "Astronomers plan to observe it with telescopes around the world to learn as much about it as possible."

JO25 is the largest asteroid to make a close approach to Earth in 13 years. The last asteroid to outsize it was the 3.1-mile Toutatis, which in 2004 came even closer to Earth than JO25 did.

In August 2027, the asteroid 1999 AN10 will come within 250,000 miles of Earth. AN10 is slightly smaller than JO25 at 2,600 feet across, and will at one point be closer to our planet than the Moon is.</s>A large asteroid discovered three years ago will whiz past Earth on Wednesday, but there's no need to panic.

The asteroid — named 2014 JO25 — is a big one, roughly 650 metres in diameter. Its orbit will take it about 1.8 million kilometres away from Earth. To put that into perspective, it's almost four times the distance from Earth to the moon.



 The asteroid was discovered in May 2014 as part of the Catalina Sky Survey near Tuscon, Ariz. The survey is part of NASA's Center of Near-Earth Object Studies program which is constantly searching for asteroids that could pose a danger to Earth in the near future.

The asteroid has twice the reflectivity the moon does, though little else is known.

After the sun sets on Wednesday, the asteroid should be visible to those using a small telescope. It's expected to be visible for two days before it moves away from Earth.

Earth passes through debris every day, with an estimated 100 tons of meteoroids (dust and rocks that do not reach the surface) entering our atmosphere. Those pieces that are larger burn up in our atmosphere, and can be seen streaking across the sky.

There are also large bits of space debris, left over from the formation of the universe. The pieces of debris larger than meteors, known as asteroids, pass within this distance of the planet more frequently, sometimes a few times a week. But objects as large as 2014 JO25 are rare.

The last asteroid of similar size or larger to pass this close to Earth was Toutatis in September 2004; it was roughly five-kilometres wide and passed within four lunar orbits.</s>Grab your telescope and get ready – an asteroid will make a very close approach to the Earth Wednesday.

In astronomical terms, peanut-shaped 2014 JO25 will fly within 4.6 lunar distances of the Earth. Since the distance from the Earth to the Moon is approximately 236,000 miles, this means 2014 JO25 will miss the earth by a margin of 1.1 million miles.

Right next door, really, when you think of the vast universal distances.

The asteroid is approximately 2,000 feet in size. It’s the closest an asteroid of any size has come to the Earth since 3.1 mile wide Asteroid Toutatis waved hello in September 2004 on its way by.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 will be visible starting Wednesday in the night sky in small optical telescopes for one or two nights. Its surface is twice as reflective as the moon, and should brighten to magnitude 11.

Brightness of stars is assigned a number starting with the brightest star at about -1 magnitude. Dimmer stars are zero or positive numbers. The larger the number means the dimmer the star is. A star -1 magnitude is brighter than a star 0 magnitude.

Watch the video animation from NASA showing the flyby in the video player above

The asteroid was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona — a project of NASA’s NEO Observations Program in collaboration with the University of Arizona.

Small asteroids pass within this distance of Earth several times each week, so there really is nothing to worry about.

The next known encounter of an asteroid of comparable size will occur in 2027 when the half-mile-wide asteroid 1999 AN10 will fly by at one lunar distance, about 236,000 miles (380,000 kilometers).

The encounter is providing an outstanding opportunity to study this asteroid, and astronomers plan to observe it with telescopes around the world to learn as much about it as possible.

Radar observations are planned at NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and the National Science Foundation’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The resulting radar images could reveal surface details as small as a few meters.

This is the closest 2014 JO25 has come to Earth for about 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years.

Also on Wednesday, the comet PanSTARRS will have its closest approach to Earth, at a very safe distance of 109 million miles.

A faint fuzzball in the sky when it was discovered in 2015 by the Pan-STARRS survey team using a telescope on the summit of Haleakala, Hawaii, the comet has brightened considerably due to a recent outburst and is now visible in the dawn sky with binoculars or a small telescope.</s>Wednesday, April 19th, 2017 around 7:30AM…this could be our last moments on Earth together since there’s an asteroid headed right for us! Ok, probably not, but we are getting a flyby.

The asteroid Object 2014 JO25, which has been nick-named after Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock will flyby Earth around 1.1 million miles away. The asteroid itself measures about a mile across. This is the biggest asteroid to pass by Earth at such a close distance since 2004. NASA doesn’t expect another flyby this close for another 500 years.

You can watch the LIVE stream of the asteroid HERE!</s>An Asteroid Is Swinging By Earth Today For Its Closest Visit In 400 Years

Earth is welcoming a rather hefty visitor to the neighborhood Wednesday — an asteroid that hasn't swung by these parts in roughly 400 years. About as big as the Rock of Gibraltar, asteroid 2014 JO25 is coming so close that its visit should be visible even to small telescopes.

But no need to panic, NASA says.

"Although there is absolutely no chance that the asteroid will collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size," the space agency says in a statement.

At its closest approach, which should occur around midday ET Wednesday, the asteroid will be a little over a million miles away — or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon. Though NASA says that distance is comfortable enough to ensure there will be no collision, it is nevertheless classified as a "potentially hazardous asteroid" due to the way its orbit intersects Earth's.

First spotted in 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey — a collaboration between NASA's Near-Earth Objects Observation Program and the University of Arizona — JO25 looks a bit like a big barbell.

"The asteroid has a contact binary structure — two lobes connected by a neck-like region," explains Shantanu Naidu, a scientist from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The agency says the larger of these lobes is a little more than a third of a mile wide.

But astronomers hope the visit will yield more information about its size, shape and surface features. Over the next several days, they will be probing it with deep space radar, a technique the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert has already used to cobble together 30 grainy — yet illuminating — images of the asteroid from multiple angles.

It will be another decade before an asteroid of JO25's size passes by Earth. As member station KQED notes, 1999 AN10 is expected to buzz by Earth in 2027 at a distance roughly equivalent to the space between Earth and the moon.

It'll be a much longer wait to see JO25 again, though. Astronomers say it won't return to these parts for another half a millennium.

So, amateur space-sleuths, don't miss your chance to catch it before it goes.

Either point your telescopes toward the constellation Coma Berenices, which KQED reports the asteroid will be passing through, or just let Slooh Community Observatory do it for you. The network of telescope feeds will be live-streaming the event starting at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday.</s>SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A giant asteroid measuring about 2,000 feet across is passing by the Earth at a safe distance on Wednesday, according to NASA.

The asteroid, known as “2014 JO25” is safely passing by our planet at a distance of about 1.1 million miles. By comparison, the moon is 238,000 miles away, 4.6 times closer.

After Wednesday’s flyby, stargazers may be able to see the asteroid with a small telescope for the next 1-2 nights.

While small asteroids pass by within that distance each week, NASA said this is the first time an asteroid so large has passed this close in more than a decade. In 2004 asteroid Toutatis, which is about 3 miles wide, whizzed by Earth from four lunar distances away.

In 2027, an even larger asteroid is expected to pass significantly close to Earth. Asteroid “1999 AN10,” which is half a mile wide, will pass by about 236,000 miles from Earth, NASA said.

The last time asteroid 2014 JO25 passed this close to Earth was at least 400 years ago. It is not expected to pass this close to Earth for at least the next 500 years.
2014 JO25, a near-Earth asteroid discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in May 2014, passes within 1.8 million kilometers of the planet, the largest such asteroid to transit close to Earth since 2004.