A large, harmless asteroid will pass by Earth this weekend. The 1997 NC1 asteroid, which is roughly the size of two to four Empire State Buildings, will come within 1.6 million miles (2.6 million kilometers) of our planet on Saturday morning.
Discovered nearly three decades ago, this asteroid poses no threat to Earth and can be spotted as a small point of light passing through the sky with binoculars or small telescopes. The last time an asteroid similar in size passed safely by Earth was in 2022, when a space rock called 1994 PC1 made its approach.
Space agencies track asteroids to keep Earth safe from potential collisions. In recent years, astronomers have successfully tracked smaller asteroids and confirmed that they do not pose a threat to our planet or the moon.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/asteroid-flyby-1997-nc1-b5bfe9f36d78d09d28af4ab1138b0a38