A live feed will be set up for the event
An asteroid the size of a double decker is going to skim the Earth’s atmosphere tonight in one of the closest encounters with an asteroid the planet has ever witnessed.
There is no need to panic in terms of the future of civilisation though. The asteroid is set to fly past around 2,200 miles above the Earth’s surface, the equivalent distance of London to Cairo.
But in astronomy terms, it’s a very close encounter, with the rock set to pass closer than some satellites.
The asteroid, which has been given the name 2023 BU, was spotted by NASA’s Centre for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) on January 21 and is scheduled to shoot past the planet on tonight (January 27) at around 12.30am.
According to CNEOS, it has an estimated size of 11.5ft by 28ft, so wouldn’t do any damage even if it did manage to enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
A newly discovered asteroid, named 2023 BU, is expected to make one of the closet approaches by a near-Earth object ever recorded. Thanks to diligent teams of #planetarydefense experts, we know It poses zero risk to Earth.
Learn why: https://t.co/MBLpHqb7h7 pic.twitter.com/j9McEGrOVm
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) January 25, 2023
A spokesperson for NASA said: “There is no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth.
“But even if it did, this small asteroid would turn into a fireball and largely disintegrate harmlessly in the atmosphere, with some of the bigger debris potentially falling as small meteorites.”
It a statement, the space agency said: “Before encountering Earth, the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun was roughly circular, approximating Earth’s orbit, taking 359 days to complete its orbit about the Sun.
“After its encounter, the asteroid’s orbit will be more elongated, moving it out to about halfway between Earth’s and Mars’ orbits at its farthest point from the Sun. The asteroid will then complete one orbit every 425 days.”
https://twitter.com/wattsupbrent/status/1618478393976053760
The ground track of #asteroid 2023 BU.
On the night of the 26th, it will be:
mag 16 for N. America
mag 15 for East Asia.
mag 14 Northern India.
mag 13 for the Middle East
mag 12 for Africa
mag 11 for South America pic.twitter.com/xjZDh7ZcH0— Tony Dunn (@tony873004) January 25, 2023
However those who wish to view the asteroid will still be able to see it shoot past our skies courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project.
The VTP is a set of robotic telescopes based in Ceccano, Italy. These are accessible online for those keen to see the stars and beyond all from the comfort of your own home.
Live coverage of the asteroid will start on Thursday January 26 at 7.15pm, with the rock expected to be at its nearest at 12.27am GMT.
Related links:
- Argentine farmer grows 124-acre image of Lionel Messi visible from space
- NASA slams spacecraft into asteroid in first-ever ‘earth-saving’ effort
- Aliens haven’t contacted Earth yet because there’s no sign of intelligence here, study claims
- Millie Bobby Brown admits she used to be a Flat Earther
- Woman scammed by fake ‘Russian astronaut’ who said he needed money to return to Earth
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