A massive asteroid, named (887) Alinda, has made its closest approach to Earth in decades. Estimated to be roughly 2.6 miles wide, similar in width to Manhattan, Alinda is now visible in the Northern Hemisphere sky after dark.
The asteroid will reach peak brightness of magnitude 9.4 this weekend, making it observable with basic binoculars or a backyard telescope. According to astronomers, only a handful of asteroids of this size will pass within 15 million kilometers of Earth before 2200.
NASA has confirmed that Alinda poses no threat to Earth and its close flyby is an ideal opportunity for amateur astronomers to observe the asteroid. A free livestream of Alinda’s flyby will be available via the Virtual Telescope Project’s official YouTube page at 12:30 pm EST on Sunday.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/asteroid-nasa-alinda-how-to-see-when-b2678095.html