Asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 to Pass Near Earth Safely on June 27

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that the near‑Earth asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 will make a close, but safe, pass of the planet on Saturday 27 June. The object will reach its closest approach at 11:14 UTC (08:14 BRT), coming within about 2.56 million km – roughly 6.6 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. ESA estimates its diameter between 750 m and 1.65 km, with other analyses suggesting a somewhat smaller size.

ESA’s Planetary Defence Office says the impact probability is zero. The asteroid will be observable with small telescopes or large binoculars, especially from the Northern Hemisphere during its approach; the bright Moon at the time of closest passage may hamper visibility. Juan Luis Cano of ESA noted that such close approaches occur only every few years, making the event a valuable chance for amateur astronomers to observe a large near‑Earth object.

No threat to Earth is expected, and the fly‑by provides an opportunity for scientists to refine the asteroid’s size, shape and orbit through radar and optical observations.