Earth Faces a Close Weekend Flyby From a Large Asteroid

A large near-Earth asteroid is making a rare weekend pass through Earth’s neighbourhood. Asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 reaches its closest point on Saturday, June 27, but European Space Agency calculations give the encounter a zero probability of impact.

The flyby matters because the object is unusually large for such a close approach. New NASA radar observations have also produced an unexpected update about its size, shape and rotation shortly before it passes.