NASA said that the asteroid will zoom 2,200 miles above the southern tip of South America. That’s 10 times closer than the communication satellites circling overhead.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such encounters ever recorded.NASA said Wednesday that this newly discovered asteroid will zoom 2,200 miles above the southern tip of South America. That’s 10 times closer than the bevy of communication satellites circling overhead.
NASA’s impact hazard assessment system, called Scout, quickly ruled out a strike, said its developer, Davide Farnocchia, an engineer at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “But despite the very few observations, it was nonetheless able to predict that the asteroid would make an extraordinarily close approach with Earth,” Farnocchia said in a statement. “In fact, this is one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded.”
Discovered Saturday, the asteroid known as 2023 BU is believed to be between 11 feet and 28 feet across. It was first spotted by the same amateur astronomer in Crimea,. Within a few days, dozens of observations were made by astronomers around the world, allowing them to refine the asteroid’s orbit. The asteroid’s path drastically will be altered by Earth’s gravity once it zips by. Instead of circling the sun every 359 days, it will move into an oval orbit lasting 425 days, according to NASA.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Asteroid Discovered Just Days Ago Will Make Close Pass of Earth Thursday, NASA SaysNASA officials say that an asteroid will pass just over 2,000 miles above Earth’s surface on Thursday, and that the celestial body was only discovered last weekend.
Read more »
NASA: ‘Small’ asteroid to pass close to Earth ThursdayThe asteroid was discovered by an amateur astronomer out of his observatory in Crimea.
Read more »
A Truck-Size Asteroid Will Come 'Extraordinarily Close' to Earth TomorrowThe incoming asteroid, called 2023 BU, does not pose a threat to Earth, NASA says.
Read more »
Asteroid size of delivery truck coming exceedingly close to Earth, but will missAn asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such encounters ever recorded.
Read more »
NASA: Asteroid will miss but come close to EarthNASA said Wednesday that this newly discovered asteroid will zoom 2,200 miles above the southern tip of South America.
Read more »