Asteroid 1997 NC1, the largest in four years, will pass Earth safely on June 27, visible to stargazers.

Asteroid 1997 NC1, discovered in 1997, is set to make a close approach to Earth on June 27, at a distance of 2.56 million kilometers, which is over six times the distance to the Moon. This one-kilometer-wide asteroid will be traveling at a speed of 32,000 km/h (19,886 mph).¹²⁷⁸

The European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed that the asteroid poses no threat to Earth, stating, “The likelihood of a collision is unequivocally zero”. If it were to collide, it could create a crater up to 15 kilometers wide and 1.6 kilometers deep.

Stargazers will have the best chance to observe 1997 NC1 on June 26, 27, and 28, using telescopes or large binoculars. ESA's Juan Luis Cano noted, “A close approach to Earth by an object this size only occurs every few years”, although visibility may be affected by the bright nearby Moon.

The asteroid is classified as an -type (Earth-crossing) asteroid and is considered potentially hazardous due to its size, which may extend up to 1.5 kilometers. The last time an asteroid of this size passed this close was in January 2022.⁹

As it approaches, 1997 NC1 will be visible in parts of the Northern Hemisphere and almost everywhere as it speeds past Earth, before being visible only from the Southern Hemisphere as it departs.