January 26 will not just be the day residents kick back and celebrate being from the Land Down Under, but also a once-in-a-decade chance for scientists and astronomers to observe an asteroid flying close by Earth.
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The space-rock, code-named 2004 BL86 is expected to zoom by at about 1.1 million kilometres from the planet.
Although the asteroid cannot be seen without a telescope, Dubbo Observatory's Peter Neilson said it had been labelled as possibly hazardous.
The half-kilometre-wide object's orbit could be subject to change as it comes closer to the Earth's gravitational pull, Mr Neilson said.
"There are three types of asteroids," he said.
"Of the 100,000 estimated Earth crossing asteroids, we have orbits for about 15 per cent of those."
Although there will be many eyes glued to their telescopes on the eve of Australia Day, Mr Neilson said residents need not fear of any real danger for at least another thirty years.
Astronomers believe asteroid 1999AN10 will cross into the Earth's orbit in 2044.
"In that case, if the asteroid was to collide with the Earth, then there is a high chance of a tsunami or earthquake to name a few," he said.
Mr Nelson said there was evidence of asteroids colliding with the Earth which had left their mark as hefty sized craters.
