There are a few good reasons to keep your eyes on the skies Christmas Eve evening.
According to Science Alert, an asteroid, known as Asteroid 2003 SD220, was expected to zoom past the Earth on Thursday, December 24, 2015.
The asteroid will only be able to be seen by star-gazers with the right telescopes to capture it. Astronomers say that the asteroid is more than 1.2 miles in length, and is traveling faster than 16 miles per second, according to Science Alert.
The next time this asteroid will be back near Earth is 2018, the report said.
According to a report by EarthSky, rumors that the asteroid could cause disasters are not true. Scientists say the asteroid will whiz by at more than 28 times the distance from the Earth to the moon, about 6.8 million miles.
Also, space buffs should be sure to check out the Full Moon this Christmas. It’s the first one since 1977, and there wont be another on this date until 2034. For the Quad City region, the moon will rise in the east at 4:25pm on Christmas Eve and set in the west at 7:14am on Christmas morning.
If you’ve got little ones waiting for Santa, there is a live stream set up waiting for Santa to pass by this special moon on Christmas Eve. Check it out here. And for those wanting to know the big guy’s every move, check out NORAD’s Santa Tracker.
