Enormous Near-Earth Asteroid 'Florence' Will Safely Fly by Earth Sept. 1

An asteroid named Florence that will safely sweep past Earth on Sept. 1 is the largest object to give our planet a close shave since NASA began tracking these types of near-Earth asteroids, an agency official said.

"While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller," Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. [Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space]

On Sept. 1, asteroid Florence will fly by Earth, and come to within about 18 times the distance from the Earth to the moon. (Image credit: NASA)

As asteroid Florence passes by Earth, astronomers will take the opportunity to capture radar images to learn more about the asteroid’s exact size and detailed surface features. The asteroid is named after Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

Astronomer Schelte "Bobby" Bus first spotted asteroid Florence in 1981 at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The flyby on Sept. 1 is the asteroid's closest approach since 1890 and it won't get this close to Earth again until after 2500, according to the statement.

The large near-Earth asteroid Florence will fly safely by Earth on Sept. 1, 2017 at a range of 4.4 million miles (7 million kilometers). (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Amateur astronomers will be able to view the asteroid using small telescopes as early as late August, when Florence begins to brighten in the night sky and streaks through the constellations Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus.

Correction: This article previously stated that Florence would pass Earth to within eight times the distance from Earth to the moon; the asteroid will in fact pass to within 18 times that distance.

Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Note: Video edited by Space.com senior producer Steve Spaleta.

Samantha Mathewson joined Space.com as an intern in the summer of 2016. She received a B.A. in Journalism and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut. Previously, her work has been published in Nature World News. When not writing or reading about science, Samantha enjoys traveling to new places and taking photos! You can follow her on Twitter @Sam_Ashley13.