WASHINGTON – This year’s largest Earth-passing asteroid will land within about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Thursday.
The U.S. space agency said it would allow astronauts to rarely look closely at an asteroid.
The asteroid, 2001 FO32, is thought to be about 3,000 feet (915 meters) in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago, NASA said.
“We know exactly what the 2001 FO32 orbital orbit is around the sun,” said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. “There is no chance that the asteroid will get closer to Earth than 1.25 million miles.”
That is about 5.25 times the distance from Earth to the moon, but still close enough for 2001 FO32 to be classified as a “potentially dangerous asteroid. ”
NASA said the 2001 FO32 would pass at 77,000 mph (124,000 kph), faster than the speed at which most asteroids cross Earth.
“Right now, we don’t have much information about this object, so the close encounter provides a unique opportunity to learn a lot about this asteroid,” said Lance Benner, a senior scientist at NASA’s Jet Dedication Laboratory.
Reflections to be examined
NASA said astronomers hope to gain a better understanding of the size of the asteroid and a rough idea of its contents by examining light appearing off 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.”
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 at low altitudes to the north should be able to see this asteroid using medium-sized telescopes with apertures of at least 8 inches at night. going up to the nearest way, but they may need star records to find it, ”he said.
NASA said that more than 95% of asteroids near Earth the size of 2001 FO32 or larger have been cataloged and that none of them have a chance to affect our planet over the next century.