Near-Earth Asteroid 2014 RC: 'Pitbull' Will Zoom By Earth At A Distance Of 25,000 Miles On Sunday

Asteroid 2014 RC, which was discovered on Aug. 31, will make its closest approach to Earth on Sunday, though it poses no threat. The asteroid was first observed by the Catalina Sky Survey. Measuring about 60 feet in length, the asteroid -- along with its orbit -- were confirmed by additional observations from the Catalina Sky Survey and the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope, NASA noted.

At its closest approach, asteroid 2014 RC will be about 22,000 miles from our planet's surface -- or approximately one-tenth the distance between the center of the Earth and the moon, according to reports. Astronomers will be able to use the close approach to observe asteroid behavior. The approach is expected to occur at about 2:18 p.m. EDT. While the asteroid will not be visible to the naked eye, telescopes should be able to spot 2014 RC, NASA reported.

Slooh, the international organization of observatories and astronomers, tracked the asteroid, which they nicknamed "Pitbull," on Saturday. "It is fortunate that this asteroid will definitely miss hitting Earth on the 7th. The repercussions of such an impact would be greater than the Chelyabinsk event last year, which damaged thousands of houses, breaking innumerable windows, and causing injuries from broken glass. The Russian object, later discovered to be an asteroid, was approximately 65ft (20m) in diameter and exploded 18-miles above Siberia releasing the equivalent energy of more than 20 atomic bombs (approximately 460-kilotons of TNT)," Slooh said in a statement.

On June 8, asteroid 2014 HQ124, dubbed "the Beast," passed Earth at a much safer distance of 777,000 miles. In 2013, asteroid 2012 DA14 passed Earth at a distance of just 17,200 miles.

You can watch the Slooh broadcast of asteroid 2014 RC below.