One of the most massive asteroids of 2022 will zoom past Earth in January at 70000 kmph

Asteroids are a phenomenon which is now closely watched by humans due to its potential to cause massive destruction. Several huge asteroids whizzed past Earth in 2021, some bigger than the biggest man-made marvels like the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal.

Classified as potentially hazardous, the 1994 PC1 (7482) is one massive asteroid with a diameter of around 1 kilometre. It will be the first massive “close approach” of a large asteroid in 2022 when it visits Earth’s neighbourhood on January 18.

1994 PC1 will pass at a distance of 0.013 astronomical units or around 1.9 million kilometres, one of its closest transits of Earth. Although NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) classifies the asteroid’s January 18 passing as a “close approach”, it is over five times the distance to the moon.

But while 1994 PC1 isn’t coming that close, it is classified as a potentially hazardous object (PHO) due to its huge size, According to CNEOS, the space rock is estimated to be around five times the size of the massive Pyramid of Giza.

The asteroid will pass Earth at the mind-boggling speed of more than 69 kilometres per hour. After this passage, will only be back after more than 80 years in 2105. It was discovered by Scottish-Australian astronomer RH McNaught back in 1994.