A small asteroid, or rather a large meteoroid, will fly at a distance of 3,500 km from Earth on Thursday. It is not dangerous. Astronomers offer everyone to watch a live broadcast of this event.
Asteroid will fly past Earth
A small celestial body was discovered this Saturday and already called 2023 BU. On Thursday, it will fly past the earth even closer than satellites in geostationary orbit.Its diameter is from 3.5 to 8.5 meters. Thus, although it is called an asteroid, it is essentially a large meteoroid.
The 2023 BU point will take place on Earth at 11:17 p.m., GMT+2 on January 26. Currently, it will be about 3,500 km from the surface. This is less than 1 percent of the distance from the Earth to the Moon and the total quarter of the distance to the geostationary orbit.
With all this, the asteroid is not considered dangerous. The reason is its small size. Even if the course is calculated incorrectly, and 2023 BU flies into the Earth’s atmosphere, it will not reach the surface. Friction heats it to high temperatures, and it explodes at high altitude, splitting into separate fragments.
Where to watch
Despite the proximity of the flyby, it will not be possible to see BU 2023, which is now in the constellation Ursa Major, with naked eyes or even binoculars. The reason, again, is its small size. Its apparent magnitude will reach only 19.15. But in a powerful amateur telescope it will already be visible.
For those who do not have a suitable device, Astronomer Gianluca Masi will host a live broadcast that can be viewed on YouTube. It will be held within the framework of the virtual telescope project and will begin at 09.15 p.m., GMT+2.
2023 BU belongs to the Apollo group, meaning most of its orbit is farther from the Sun than Earth. This is carried out once for 425 days. Its next close pass is expected on December 6, 2036.
According to www.space.com
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