Over the years , asteroid have make bad rap , probably because of thatterrible Michael Bay movieorincessant stream of hyperbolic articleswritten about them . The the true is , asteroids are just hunks of rock hurling through quad that are n’t actively seeking to put down the human slipstream . later on this calendar month , one such non - revelatory asteroid will get close enough to Earth for our viewing pleasure . Even though it wo n’t do any wrong , this is a all-fired big slice of quad trash .
On April 19th , an asteroid cognise as 2014 JO25 will whiz by our Pale Blue Dot from a well-situated distance — it’ll beroughly 1.1 million miles(1.8 million km ) away from us at closest plan of attack . What ’s really noteworthy is how tremendous this thing is ; allot toNASA , the asteroid is about 2,000 feet ( 650 time ) in length . That ’s about the same size as theworld ’s longest parapraxis - n - slide , or like , a billion Chipotle burrito — the latter is an estimate .
“ Although there is no opening for the asteroid to jar with our planet , this will be a very close advance for an asteroid of this size , ” NASAsaid in a program line . The agency added that it ’s not uncommon for smaller asteroids flee by Earth at the same aloofness that 2014 JO25 will , but its size is noteworthy . “ This upcoming close coming is the closest by any known asteroid of this size , or large , since asteroidToutatis , a 3.1 - Roman mile ( five - km ) asteroid , which approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004 . ”
While this particular asteroid will be very reflective , it ’ll be sturdy to see it with the raw optic — a unspoilt scope would be best . If you ’re in a smogginess hideout or trap in a elbow room with no window , you’re able to look out the asteroid vaporize by onThe Virtual Telescope . For the tough core grind , Sloohwill be doing a live show comply the asteroid ’s tight approach shot , starting at 7 pm EDT . A spokesperson from Slooh tell Gizmodo they ’ve capably dub the asteroid “ The Rock . ”
It ’s not every daytime you get to see some space scraps zoom past Earth . That ’s the majesty of the final frontier : in space , even trash looks outstanding .
NASANear - Earth objectScienceSpace
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