A large asteroid is due to pass on April 29
Posted by Eddie Irizarry in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | SPACE |April 23, 2020
You need a telescope to see it, but astronomers have been observing it already. Charts, tips, recent images, how to watch online here.
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Posted by Eddie Irizarry in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | SPACE |April 23, 2020
You need a telescope to see it, but astronomers have been observing it already. Charts, tips, recent images, how to watch online here.
Sharing is caring!
Radar image of asteroid 1998 OR2 acquired April 18, 2020, by astronomers at Arecibo Observatory. The radar data confirm that 1998 OR2 is at least 2 km in diameter [a little over a mile wide]. These radar images suggest it is spherical. It rotates once every 4.1 hours. Image via Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
A big – very big – asteroid will pass relatively close to Earth on April 29, 2020. Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2 will pass at a safe distance, at some 4 million miles (6 million km), or about 16 times the Earth-moon distance. It’ll be the biggest asteroid to fly by Earth this year (that we know about so far); according to current estimates, it’s probably a bit over a mile wide (2 km) and mostly spherical. Closest approach will be April 29 around 5:56 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (09:56 UTC; translate UTC to your time). Professional observatories have been pointing their telescopes at the huge space rock already. Amateur astronomers with smaller telescopes will also have an opportunity to see it as a slow-moving “star.” If that’s you, we give charts and tips for observers at the bottom of this post that should help.
Source:https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/asteroid-52768-1998-or2-april-2020-how-to-see
