An exceptional parade ahead of Asteroid Day: two asteroids are preparing to visit Earth this week. The first appointment and for Thursday 27 June with asteroid 2011 UL21, with a diameter of over two kilometers, while on Saturday 29 June it will be the turn of asteroid 2024 MK, discovered a few days ago. There will be no danger for our Planet: both cosmic stones will pass at a safe distance, giving life to an exceptional parade that will open the celebrations for Asteroid Day on June 30th.
The more cumbersome guest will be the asteroid 2011 UL21, discovered on 17 October 2011 by the Catalina Sky Survey. With a diameter of 2,310 meters, it is larger than 99% of all known near-Earth objects. However, it will not get too close to Earth: on the 27th June, at 10.14 pm Italian time, it will pass at 6.6 million kilometers, 17 times farther than the Moon. To observe it, you will need to arm yourself with a telescope 20 centimeters in diameter. From our latitudes, explain the experts of the National Institute of Astrophysics, we will be able to start seeing it without difficulty starting from June 28, in the early evening, low on the western horizon in the constellation of Virgo, about 24 hours after having reached the minimum distance from the earth.
How to observe the two asteroids from Earth
Telescopes pointed at the sky also on June 29 for the passage of asteroid 2024 MK, which has a diameter between 120 and 260 meters. Its discovery occurred only last June 16 thanks to the Atlas telescope network, a warning system for the impact of asteroids developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA. On Saturday, the asteroid will reach its minimum distance from Earth at 3.46pm Italian time, passing 290,000 kilometers from our planet, about 75% of the Earth-Moon distance. You can watch the show with a small telescope starting on the night between 29 and 30 June, a few hours after reaching the minimum distance. From Italy, at the beginning of the evening, this asteroid will shine in the constellation of Pegasus moving towards the constellation of Andromeda. At dawn on June 30, 2024 MK will be decidedly weaker due to the significant distance from us.
Are you ready to observe these celestial spectacles?
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