Large asteroid set to fly very close to Earth today – How to watch it LIVE

Image credit: http://media.npr.org

New Delhi: A large asteroid roughly 2,000 feet (650 meters) in size will pass close to Earth on Wednesday, April 19.

The asteroid, known as 2014 JO25, will pass us by at a distance of 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers) - or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon.

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, said NASA.

Here's how to Watch the asteroid's journey Live

The near-Earth asteroid will approach Earth from the direction of the sun and will become visible in the night sky after April 19.

It is predicted to brighten to about magnitude 11, when it could be visible in small optical telescopes for one or two nights before it fades as the distance from Earth rapidly increases.

You can also watch the asteroid's flyby live on the Slooh online observatory's website starting at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) April 19.

The surface of the asteroid reflects about twice as much light as the moon.

Wednesday's encounter is the closest the object will have come to Earth in 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years.

The next known encounter of an asteroid of comparable size will occur in 2027 when the 800-meter-wide asteroid 1999 AN10 will fly by at one lunar distance, about 380,000 km.

NASA has been monitoring asteroid 2014 JO25 since it was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona.