The asteroid, which is called 3200 Phaethon, will zip past Earth within a distance of around 6.4 million miles.
Interestingly, the asteroid has been listed by NASA as Potentially Hazardous - which means that at some point in the future, it could possibly strike Earth. That said, it won't happen any time soon. At least that's according to Boston University professor Michael Mendillo, who told Time Magazine that the asteroid "appears to be, at the moment, in a very stable orbit. It’s very predictable. If no other mass comes close to it, those predictions will be accurate for thousands of years."
The asteroid itself is thought to be responsible in part for the Geminid meteor showers, which occur roughly around the same time of its 523-day orbit of Earth. This evening, however, will see 3200 Phaethon pass closer than it has since 1972.
What's more, if you've got a telescope and clear skies, it should be pretty easy to see. A livestream of the asteroid's passage is happening on YouTube too, with an embed below.
Via Space.com