Alinda is one of the five largest near-Earth asteroids, coming closer than 9.3 million miles until the year 2200.

A massive asteroid, (887) Alinda, is set to make its closest approach to Earth in a century, providing a spectacular opportunity for skywatchers. Discovered in 1918 by German astronomer Max Wolf, Alinda measures about 4.2 kilometers in diameter, making it one of the larger near-Earth asteroids.

This Sunday, an asteroid larger than Manhattan – large enough it could end civilization, or at least wreck a country – is casually flying by Earth. Don’t panic. This rocky beast named (887) Alinda has zero chance of hitting the blue marble anytime soon.

The asteroid is so large it should be viewable with ordinary binoculars. The post Asteroid larger than Manhattan to fly by Earth appeared first on Talker.