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Huge Asteroid '2012 LZ1' to Pass by Earth

By Mike Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer

Credit: Slooh Space Camera

A look at where near-Earth asteroid 2012 LZ1 will appear in the sky on the evening of June 14, 2012.

June 13, 2012 Updated Jun 13, 2012 at 1:20 PM PDT

An asteroid the size of a city block is set to fly by Earth Thursday (June 14th), and you may be able to watch it happen live.

The near-Earth asteroid 2012 LZ1, which astronomers think is about 1,650 feet wide, will come within 14 lunar distances of Earth Thursday evening. While there's no danger of an impact on this pass, the huge space rock may come close enough to be caught on camera.

That's what the team running the Slooh Space Camera thinks, anyway. The online sky-watching service will train a telescope on the Canary Islands on 2012 LZ1 and stream the footage live, beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT Thursday.

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