--- title: Giant Asteroid Will Blot Out A Bright Star Next Week description: An asteroid the size of Rhode Island will pass by Earth early Thursday morning, blocking out the light from one of the sky's brightest stars. The event will be visible to the naked for star gazers in certain parts of North America canonical: https://time.com/26096/you-might-be-able-to-watch-a-giant-asteroid-blot-out-a-star/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-15T14:58:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:47:23.267Z article:section: Science og:title: Giant Asteroid Will Blot Out A Bright Star Next Week og:description: An asteroid the size of Rhode Island will pass by Earth early Thursday morning, blocking out the light from one of the sky's brightest stars. The event will be visible to the naked for star gazers in certain parts of North America og:url: https://time.com/26096/you-might-be-able-to-watch-a-giant-asteroid-blot-out-a-star/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b398a1ee141753c/69868595cd804d4eabcc9bf2/10165416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ASTEROID og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Giant Asteroid Will Blot Out A Bright Star Next Week twitter:description: An asteroid the size of Rhode Island will pass by Earth early Thursday morning, blocking out the light from one of the sky's brightest stars. The event will be visible to the naked for star gazers in certain parts of North America twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b398a1ee141753c/69868595cd804d4eabcc9bf2/10165416.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Might Be Able To Watch A Giant Asteroid Blot Out A Star by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Mar 15, 2014 2:58 PM UTC  ASTEROID ASTEROIDGetty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Mar 15, 2014 2:58 PM UTC A massive space rock will [blot](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/03/15/asteroid-star-northeast/6417135/) out one of the night sky’s brightest stars next week and millions of people in the northeastern U.S. will be able to witness it without a telescope. The space rock Erigone will pass between Earth and the star Regulus just after 2 a.m. EST Thursday for as long as 14 seconds, scientists say, blocking out the light from the star in the most visible such event in North America, _USA Today_ reports. Though asteroids frequently block light from minor stars in so-called “occultations”, these events are only visible through telescopes or with special equipment. Since the 1980s, only eight occultations of stars visible to the naked eye have been observed in the United States. The 45-mile-wide asteroid’s passage will be visible in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut and parts of Canada. \[[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/03/15/asteroid-star-northeast/6417135/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/26096/you-might-be-able-to-watch-a-giant-asteroid-blot-out-a-star/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/26096/you-might-be-able-to-watch-a-giant-asteroid-blot-out-a-star/"},"headline":"You Might Be Able To Watch A Giant Asteroid Blot Out A Star","datePublished":"2014-03-15T14:58:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:47:23.267Z","description":"An asteroid the size of Rhode Island will pass by Earth early Thursday morning, blocking out the light from one of the sky's brightest stars. 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