By Dean Murray
An asteroid larger than Manhattan is flying close by Earth.
The space rock – named (887) Alinda – is so large it should be viewable with ordinary binoculars.
With an estimated diameter of 4.2 km, the asteroid’s January appearance sees it coming within a relatively cosmically close distance of 12.28 million km to us.
However, the asteroid is not considered hazardous. While it is classified as a “Near Earth Asteroid” due to its proximity to our orbit, Alinda is not on a collision course with our planet.
According to the space-watching website Virtual Telescope, the asteroid is expected to peak in brightness on Sunday (Jan. 12).
They commented: “Considering all the asteroids coming closer than 15 million of kilometers, Alinda is one of the five largest ones in size from now until 2200.”
Manhattan is 3.7 km wide at its widest point.
