The nearest to it will be two million kilometers away, according to the U.S. space agency.
The largest asteroid to orbit Earth this year will be getting closer to Sunday, giving astronomers a rare opportunity to take a good look at a space rock formed at the breakdown of our solar system.
Although in a celestial sense this marks a close encounter with the asteroid – known as 2001 FO32 – NASA says there is no risk of an accident with our planet “now or for centuries come “.
The nearest to it will be two million kilometers (1.25 million miles) away, according to the U.S. space agency.
That’s about 5.25 times Earth’s distance from the Moon but still close enough for 2001 FO32 to be classified as a “potentially dangerous asteroid.”
“We know very well the orbital orbit of the 2001 FO32 orbit around the Sun,” said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
NASA says 2001 FO32 will pass at about 124,000 kilometers per hour (77,000 miles per hour) faster than the speed at which most asteroids cross Earth.
The asteroid is thought to be about 900 meters (3,000 feet) in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago.
Astronomers are hoping to gain a better understanding of the size of the asteroid and a rough idea of its writing by studying light emerging from its surface.
“When sunlight hits the surface of an asteroid, minerals in the rock absorb some waves while exposing others,” NASA said.
“By studying the spectrum of light appearing off the surface, astronomers can measure the chemical ‘fingerprints’ of the minerals on the asteroid’s surface.”
The asteroid will be closest to Earth at around 1600 GMT on Sunday, according to the Paris Observatory, France’s largest astronomical study center.
Amateur astronauts in some parts of the world should make their own observations.
The asteroid will be brighter as it moves through the southern skies, Chodas said.
“Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere and low-latitude latitudes to the north should be able to see this asteroid using medium-sized telescopes with openings of at least eight inches in the sky. nights lead to the nearest approach, but they may need star records to find it, “he said.
NASA said that more than 95 percent of near – Earth asteroids the size of 2001 FO32 or greater have been cataloged and none of them have a chance to affect our planet over the next century.
NASA says 2052 will be the next 2001 FO32 near Earth.
Sixty-six million years ago an asteroid was about twice the diameter when Paris crashed into Earth and destroyed 75 percent of its life on the planet.