This Week Brings Biggest Asteroid Flyby of the Year

Sky watchers of the professional and amateur varieties are keeping an eye on the heavens this week to spot a giant asteroid zipping by. The rock dubbed 7335 (1989 JA) will be closest to Earth on Friday, reports Live Science. This one just happens to be the largest asteroid expected to do a flyby this year, with Live Science describing the mile-wide rock as four times the size of the Empire State Building and AccuWeather taking the more fanciful approach of calling it as tall as 350 giraffes.

The asteroid will miss our planet by 2.5 million miles, though that's close enough to qualify as "potentially hazardous" in the eyes of NASA. It's also close enough for those with telescopes to spot it, and some already have, notes AccuWeather. "Stargazers hoping to catch a glimpse of the asteroid can find it in the southern sky near the constellation Hydra," the site notes. It should become easier to spot as Friday approaches. Those who miss it this time will have to wait until 2055 for another glimpse. (More asteroid stories.)