The largest asteroid ever tracked by NASA will zoom nearby the planet Earth on Sept. 1, providing astronomy fans a rare treat shortly after the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21.
NASA estimates asteroid Florence to measure about 2.7 miles wide. Although it will not be the closest asteroid to pass near Earth, it is by far the largest, scientists said.
“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began,” said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
NASA
