The asteroid (887) Alinda, measuring 2.6 miles wide, recently passed within 7.6 million miles of Earth on January 8 and will peak in brightness on January 12, visible through binoculars or a good telescope.

This rare event occurs once a decade, with Alinda being one of the five largest asteroids to pass close to Earth in the next 175 years.

While it poses no threat, NASA and other space agencies are testing planetary defense plans.

A livestream of the flyby will be available for stargazers, Live Science has reported.

Additionally, the full Wolf Moon and a planetary parade of six planets will be visible later in January.

Written by B.C. Begley