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 On 19 April 2017, at 12:24 Universal Time, the potentially hazardous asteroid 2014 JO25, with a diameter of about 1 km, will make a safe close encounter with the Earth (1.7 millions of km, 4.57 times the mean distance of the Moon), becoming visible with modest instruments, including binoculars and small telescope. Here it is how to see it. 
 
 *** The Virtual Telescope will show asteroid 2014 JO25 live, online, for free. Check it out here. 
 
 Of course, you will need to know where to look, where to point your telescopes or binoculars. Because 2014 JO25 is coming relatively close to us, its position in the sky will be different from location to location, so you will need to consider where you are on the Earth. You can use the ephemeris generator available at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, setting your personal position there. 
 
 To see it with an amateur telescope, we have to wait until 18 April, when its position in space, compared to that of the Earth (where we are) and the Sun (the source of the light making it visible), will make it bright enough (brighter than magnitude 17.0), within the capabilities of a small telescope equipped with a digital imaging camera). 
 
 On the following hours, while safely approaching us, it will brighten a lot and early on 19 April, it will be visible visually through a 6″ (150 mm) large telescope. At the time of its minimum distance from us (19 April, 12:24 UT), will shine as bright as magnitude 11.0, easy to spot with a very small (60 mm of aperture) telescope or binocular. 
 
 A few hours after its close encounter, before the end of 19 April, asteroid 2014 JO25 will peak at magnitude 10.7, easy to see with the smallest binoculars (40 mm aperture) and very easy to image even with a ordinary, moderate telephoto lens, able to immediately document its motion across the stars. 
 
 When looking at asteroid 2014 JO25 visually with a telescope, around the time of its minimum distance, you will easily see it moving in real time, thanks to its proximity to us: it is a quite exciting experience! 
 
 *** The Virtual Telescope will show asteroid 2014 JO25 live, online, for free. Check it out here. 
 
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 Photos: All about asteroids Asteroid 2014 JO25 was imaged by radar from NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California one day before its closest approach to Earth. A grid composed of 30 images shows the two-lobed asteroid in different rotations. The space rock passed Earth on April 19, 2017, at a distance of 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers). Hide Caption 1 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids A graphic shows asteroid 2014 JO25 as it is projected to fly safely past Earth on April 19, 2017, at a distance of about 1.1 million miles or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon. Hide Caption 2 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids This graphic illustrates asteroid 2016 HO3 orbiting Earth as the pair go around the sun together. The asteroid was first spotted on April 27, 2016, by the Pan-STARRS 1 asteroid survey telescope on Haleakala, Hawaii. Hide Caption 3 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids All about asteroids – This graphic shows the track for asteroid 2004 BL86, which flew about 745,000 miles from Earth on January 26, 2015. That's about three times as far away as the moon. Hide Caption 4 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids This graphic shows the path Asteroid 2014 RC took as it passed Earth on September 7, 2015. The space rock came within one-tenth the distance from Earth to the moon. Hide Caption 5 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids NASA scientists used Earth-based radar to produce these sharp views of the asteroid designated "2014 HQ124" on June 8, 2014. NASA called the images "most detailed radar images of a near-Earth asteroid ever obtained." Hide Caption 6 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids The Hubble Space Telescope snapped a series of images on September 10, 2013, revealing a never-before-seen sight: An asteroid that appeared to have six comet-like tails Hide Caption 7 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids A diagram shows the orbit of an asteroid named 2013 TV135 (in blue), which made headlines in September 2013 when it passed close by Earth. The probability of it striking Earth one day stands at 1 in 63,000, and even those odds are fading fast as scientists find out more about the asteroid. It will most likely swing past our planet again in 2032, according to NASA. Hide Caption 8 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids Asteroid 2012 DA14 made a record-close pass -- 17,100 miles -- by Earth on February 15, 2013. Most asteroids are made of rocks, but some are metal. They orbit mostly between Jupiter and Mars in the main asteroid belt. Scientists estimate there are tens of thousands of asteroids and when they get close to our planet, they are called near-Earth objects. Hide Caption 9 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids Another asteroid, Apophis, got a lot of attention from space scientists and the media when initial calculations indicated a small chance it could hit Earth in 2029 or 2036. NASA scientists have since ruled out an impact, but on April 13, 2029, Apophis, which is about the size of 3½ football fields, will make a close visit -- flying about 19,400 miles (31,300 kilometers) above Earth's surface. The images above were taken by the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory in January 2013. Hide Caption 10 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids If you really want to know about asteroids, you need to see one up close. NASA did just that. A spacecraft called NEAR-Shoemaker, named in honor of planetary scientist Gene Shoemaker, was the first probe to touch down on an asteroid, landing on the asteroid Eros on February 12, 2001. This image was taken on February 14, 2000, just after the probe began orbiting Eros. Hide Caption 11 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids The first asteroid to be identified, 1 Ceres, was discovered January 1, 1801, by Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo, Sicily. But is Ceres just another asteroid? Observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show that Ceres has a lot in common with planets like Earth. It's almost round and it may have a lot of pure water ice beneath its surface. Ceres is about 606 by 565 miles (975 by 909 kilometers) in size and scientists say it may be more accurate to call it a mini-planet. NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on its way to Ceres to investigate. The spacecraft is 35 million miles (57 million kilometers) from Ceres and 179 million miles (288 million kilometers) from Earth. The photo on the left was taken by Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The image on the right was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hide Caption 12 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids One big space rock got upgraded recently. This image of Vesta was taken by the Dawn spacecraft, which is on its way to Ceres. In 2012, scientists said data from the spacecraft show Vesta is more like a planet than an asteroid and so Vesta is now considered a protoplanet. Hide Caption 13 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids The three-mile long (4.8-kilometer) asteroid Toutatis flew about 4.3 million miles (6.9 million kilometers) from Earth on December 12, 2012. NASA scientists used radar images to make a short movie Hide Caption 14 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids Asteroids have hit Earth many times. It's hard to get an exact count because erosion has wiped away much of the evidence. The mile-wide Meteor Crater in Arizona, seen above, was created by a small asteroid that hit about 50,000 years ago, NASA says. Other famous impact craters on Earth include Manicouagan in Quebec, Canada; Sudbury in Ontario, Canada; Ries Crater in Germany, and Chicxulub on the Yucatan coast in Mexico. Hide Caption 15 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids NASA scientists say the impact of an asteroid or comet several hundred million years ago created the Aorounga crater in the Sahara Desert of northern Chad. The crater has a diameter of about 10.5 miles (17 kilometers). This image was taken by the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. Hide Caption 16 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids In 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, scientists theorize an asteroid flattened about 750 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) of forest in and around the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Hide Caption 17 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids What else is up there? Is anyone watching? NASA's Near-Earth Object Program is trying to track down all asteroids and comets that could threaten Earth. NASA says 9,672 near-Earth objects have been discovered as of February 5, 2013. Of these, 1,374 have been classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, or objects that could one day threaten Earth. Hide Caption 18 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids One of the top asteroid-tracking scientists is Don Yeomans at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by the California Institute of Technology. Yeomans says every day, "Earth is pummeled by more than 100 tons of material that spewed off asteroids and comets." Fortunately, most of the asteroid trash is tiny and it burns up when it hits the atmosphere, creating meteors, or shooting stars. Yeomans says it's very rare for big chunks of space litter to hit Earth's surface. Those chunks are called meteorites. Hide Caption 19 of 21 
 
 Photos: All about asteroids Asteroids and comets are popular fodder for Earth-ending science fiction movies. Two of the biggest blockbusters came out in 1998: "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon." (Walt Disney Studios) Others include "Meteorites!" (1998), "Doomsday Rock" (1997), "Asteroid" (1997), "Meteor" (1979), and "A Fire in the Sky" (1978). Can you name others? Hide Caption 20 of 21 

 A whopper of an asteroid will make a close approach to Earth on April 19. There's no need to panic, though; NASA says it won't collide with our planet. But it will get extremely close for an asteroid of that size. 
 
 Named 2014 JO25, this giant space rock measures approximately 2,000 feet (650 meters) across — about the height of the Shanghai Tower, China's tallest building and the second-tallest building in the world. It will pass by Earth at a safe distance of 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers), or nearly five times the distance between the Earth and the moon. 
 
 "Small asteroids pass within this distance of Earth several times each week, but this upcoming close approach is the closest by any known asteroid of this size, or larger, since asteroid Toutatis, a 3.1-mile (five-kilometer) asteroid, which approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004," NASA officials said in a statement. [Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space] 
 
 NASA first learned of 2014 JO25 three years ago, when astronomers monitoring the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona spotted it with their telescopes. Sponsored by NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observation Program, the survey searches for potentially Earth-threatening asteroids in the solar system. 
 
 The asteroid 2014 JO25 will fly within 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers) of Earth during its flyby on April 19, 2017 as seen in this NASA diagram. The asteroid is about 2,000 feet (650 meters) across, NASA says, and poses no impact threat to Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 
 
 While NASA doesn't know much about its physical properties, the agency's NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission indicates that the asteroid is about twice as reflective as the moon. Skywatchers will be able to see it with a small telescope. After it first becomes visible in the night sky, it will slowly fade into the distance, disappearing after one or two nights. 
 
 "The April 19 encounter provides an outstanding opportunity to study this asteroid, and astronomers plan to observe it with telescopes around the world to learn as much about it as possible," NASA said in the statement. "Radar observations are planned at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and the National Science Foundation’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and the resulting radar images could reveal surface details as small as a few meters." 
 
 Editor's note: If you capture a photo of asteroid 2014 JO25 through a telescope and would like to share it with Space.com, please send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com. 
 
 Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. 

 The earth has asteroids whizzing past it several times a week but these are smaller in size that the one expected on April 19 An asteroid as big as the Rock of Gibraltar will streak past Earth on April 19 at a safe but uncomfortably close distance, according to astronomers. 
 
 "Although there is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid this size," NASA said in a statement. 
 
 Dubbed 2014-JO25 and roughly 650 metres (2,000 feet) across, the asteroid will come within 1.8 million kilometres (1.1 million miles) of Earth, less than five times the distance to the Moon. 
 
 It will pass closest to our planet after having looped around the Sun. 2014-J25's will then continue on past Jupiter before heading back toward the centre of our Solar System. 
 
 Smaller asteroids whizz by Earth several times a week. But the last time one at least this size came as close was in 2004, when Toutatis—five kilometres (3.1 miles) across—passed within four lunar distances. 
 
 The next close encounter with a big rock will not happen before 2027, when the 800-metre (half-mile) wide asteroid 199-AN10 will fly by at just one lunar distance, about 380,000 km (236,000 miles). 
 
 The last time 2014-JO25 was in our immediate neighbourhood was 400 years ago, and it's next brush with Earth won't happen until sometime after 2600. 
 
 The April 19 flyby is an "outstanding opportunity" for astronomers and amateur stargazers, NASA said. 
 
 "Astronomers plan to observe it with telescopes around the world to learn as much about it as possible," the US space agency said. 
 
 Besides its size and trajectory, scientists also know that its surface is twice as reflective as that of the Moon. 
 
 It should be visible with a small optical telescope for one or two nights before moving out of range. 
 
 2014-J25 was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona. 
 
 Also on April 19, a comet known as PanSTARRS will make its closest approach to Earth at a "very safe" distance of 175 million km (109 million miles), according to NASA. 
 
 The comet has brightened recently and should be visible in the dawn sky with binoculars or a small telescope. 
 
 Asteroids are composed of rocky and metallic material, whereas comets—generally smaller—are more typically made of ice, dust and rocky stuff. 
 
 Both were formed early in the history of the Solar System some 4.5 billion years ago. 
 
 Explore further: Asteroid to fly safely past Earth on April 19
– Here's one less thing to worry about. A giant asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, but the folks at NASA say there is no chance it could hit us. The space rock the size of the Rock of Gibraltar, per AFP, or six NFL football fields, per CNN, will make a harmless fly-by on Wednesday. "Although there is no possibility for the asteroid to collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid this size," NASA says in a statement. After looping around the sun, the 2,000-foot-wide space chunk named 2014-JO25 will buzz Earth at a distance of 1.1 million miles, or a reassuring five times the distance to the moon. It will then keep going past Jupiter. Smaller space rocks swirl around Earth all the time, but this is the closest pass of a really big one since 2004, when the 3.1-mile-wide Toutatis passed within "four lunar distances," NASA says. Not much is known about the latest asteroid, though reports indicate it has a reflective surface twice as bright as the moon. The close encounter means that even amateur astronomers with small telescopes or binoculars will be able to catch a peek, Space.com notes. It will be visible for one or two nights, before slowly fading away. (You can watch it live here.) NASA telescopes in California and Puerto Rico will deliver radar images that "could reveal surface details as small as a few meters." NASA says, calling it an "outstanding opportunity to study this asteroid." (NASA is hunting an asteroid that may slam into Earth.)