UAE: Asteroid bigger than Burj Khalifa to whiz past Earth; can residents see rare phenomenon?

A giant asteroid, comparable in size to Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building, is set to whiz past Earth on January 18.

The asteroid has been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) due to its large size and flyby closeness to Earth. Its estimated size is about 3,280 feet, which is approximately 600 feet bigger than Dubai's Burj Khalifa and twice the height of New York City's Empire State Building.

But the asteroid's size isn't a cause for concern. Hasan Al Hariri, the CEO of Dubai Astronomy Group, said it will pass Earth safely.

"The asteroid will fly past and go even beyond the moon. It's not going to collide with our planet," he said. "There are more than 500 such asteroids. These are also called NEOs or Nearth-Earth Objects or Hazardous Bodies."

Nasa also launched a spacecraft called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart), which will deflect asteroids and use technology to remove or change the course of asteroids so they don't collide with Earth.

"There are different types of asteroids, and we have to create different methods to defend Earth against potential asteroids or comet hazards," Al Hariri said.

The speeding asteroid will pass 1.93 million kilometres from Earth, or about five times the distance between Earth and Moon.

"Nasa's programmes of planetary defence systems monitor all such bodies that can cause a threat to Earth, either in the short or long-term," Al Hariri said. "Different space agencies also monitor the sky and there are many surveys held around the year and around the world to identify such objects that could pose a threat to us. Additionally, advanced telescopes are being manufactured that can capture up to even one million objects coming from space."

Others interested in seeing the asteroid can watch it live on www.virtualtelescope.eu on January 18 at 10pm UAE time.