A newly found asteroid will come very near Earth this week.
Asteroid 2023 BU measures between 12 and 28 toes large (3.8 to eight.5 meters), and was simply found on Saturday (Jan. 21) by astronomer Gennadiy Borisov on the MARGO Observatory in Crimea. When it passes by Earth at its closest on Thursday (Jan. 26) at 4:17 p.m. EST (2117 GMT), the space rock can be inside lower than 3% of the typical Earth-moon distance at an altitude of simply 2,178 miles (3,506 kilometers) above Earth’s floor.
For comparability, most geostationary satellites orbit at an angle of round 22,200 miles (35,800 km).
Most asteroids aren’t shiny sufficient to be seen with out a highly effective telescope; fortunately, you possibly can watch asteroid 2023 BU make its shut encounter with our planet because of the Digital Telescope Undertaking. Astronomer Gianluca Masi can be internet hosting a free livestream of the asteroid’s move on the project’s website (opens in new tab) or YouTube channel (opens in new tab) on Thursday (Jan. 26) beginning at 2:15 p.m. EST (1915 GMT).
Associated: Asteroids: Fun facts and information about these space rocks
The asteroid is at present within the Ursa Major constellation. As a result of its small dimension, asteroid 2023 BU is pretty dim at magnitude 19.15, however it may be seen by way of a strong telescope operated by a seasoned skywatcher.
Fortunately for these of us who aren’t veteran asteroid chasers, the Digital Telescope Undertaking will stream the entire thing. “Asteroid 2023 BU can have an especially shut, however secure, encounter with us, coming [within] lower than 10,000 km from the Earth’s middle, about 25% of the geostationary satellites’ distance,” writes Masi on the mission’s website (opens in new tab).
Asteroid 2023 BU is called an Apollo-type asteroid, which implies its orbit crosses that of Earth however spends most of its time nicely exterior the trail of our planet, based on the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (opens in new tab), which is predicated at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 2023 BU orbits the sun each 425 days and won’t move near our planet once more till Dec. 6, 2036.
Whereas asteroid 2023 BU will move extraordinarily near Earth, it’s not categorized as doubtlessly hazardous. That is as a result of its small dimension means it might seemingly break up and incinerate in Earth’s atmosphere.
Hoping to catch a glimpse of asteroid 2023 BU? Our guides on the best telescopes and best binoculars may assist you to get began on the trail to proper optics. You may as well try our guides on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography to get began.
Editor’s Word: In case you handle to catch a photograph of asteroid 2023 BU and wish to share it with House.com’s readers, ship your picture(s), feedback, and your identify and placement to spacephotos@space.com.
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