Washington. An asteroid the size of a truck will pass close to Earth on Thursday, in one of the closest approaches ever recorded, the US space agency (NASA) said, stressing that it does not represent any danger.
Asteroid 2023 BU, recently discovered by an amateur astronomer, will pass over the southern tip of South America at around 4:27 p.m. (West Coast Time, 00:27 GMT Friday), according to NASA.
It will pass just 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) from Earth, much closer than many geostationary satellites orbiting the planet.
But there is no risk of the asteroid hitting the planet, NASA said in a statement.
Even if it did, the 3.5 to 8.5 meter wide asteroid would largely disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere, potentially resulting in only a few small meteorites.
It was discovered on Saturday from an observatory in Crimea by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, who previously spotted an interstellar comet in 2019.
Dozens of sightings were then made at observatories around the world.
NASA’s Scout impact risk assessment system quickly ruled out an asteroid impact on Earth, the space agency said.
“Despite very few observations, he was able to predict that the asteroid will come extraordinarily close to Earth,” said Davide Farnocchia, who helped develop the Scout system.
“In fact, this is one of the closest known approaches of an object to Earth ever recorded,” he added.
The asteroid will come so close that its path around the Sun will be significantly altered.
Previously, the asteroid took 359 days to complete its orbit around the Sun, but after this near-Earth passage, it will take 425, NASA said.
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