( CNN ) -- A newly discovered asteroid will pass `` very close '' to Earth on Sunday , NASA says . The space rock is estimated to be 60 feet ( 18 meters ) long . It 's expected to fly over New Zealand about 2:18 p.m. EDT ( 11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC . ) It wo n't hit Earth or any of the thousands of satellites orbiting the planet , NASA says . It will give astronomers and scientists a chance to study it . The asteroid wo n't be visible the naked eye , but amateur astronomers should be able to see it with telescopes . Called 2014 RC , the asteroid was discovered on August 31 by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson , Arizona . NASA 's Near Earth Object Program estimates there are thousands of asteroids that could threaten Earth , but experts say none of the ones being tracked are expected to hit the planet anytime soon . Sometimes , though , space rocks sneak by the scientists and amateur astronomers who track them . On February 15 , 2013 , a nearly 60-foot-wide meteor plunged into Earth 's atmosphere and exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk with the force of about 30 nuclear bombs . The blast injured about 1,500 people . The Chelyabinsk meteor was undetected before it was spotted by local residents as it streaked across the sky . It exploded on the same day that Asteroid 2012 DA14 , one that was being carefully tracked by NASA , safely passed by Earth . NASA is trying to speed up the way it tracks potentially hazardous asteroids and to learn how to deflect rocks that threaten Earth . Its Asteroid Initiative includes a plan to capture an asteroid and tug it into orbit around the moon in the 2020s . If it works , astronauts will land on the asteroid , take samples and bring them back to Earth .
NASA will fly `` very close '' to Earth on February 15 , 2013 . Earth 's not in danger , Asteroid 2014 RC says , but the flyby will give scientists something to study . The asteroid , which is expected to fly over Tucson , wo n't be visible to the naked eye .