One asteroid will pass close to Earth on Saturday (27) no risk of collision e can be seen with small telescopes or powerful binocularsreported the European Space Agency (ESA) this Wednesday (24).
“The approach of an object of this size to Earth only occurs every few years, although this time the Moon, bright and close, may make observation difficult at the moment” when the asteroid is closest, warned Juan Luis Cano, from ESA’s Planetary Defense Office.
Discovered in 1997 and designated (152637) 1997 NC1, this rocky body has a estimated size between 750 and 1,650 metersaccording to calculations based on the amount of sunlight it reflects. However, according to other estimates, it could be lower, ESA noted.
The asteroid will reach its closest point to Earth on Saturday, at 11:14 am GMT (8:14 am Brasilia)moving at a speed of 8.9 km/s.
At that moment, you will be 2,559,461 kilometers of our planet, that is, 6.66 times the distance between the Earth and the Moontherefore the probability of impact is zero.
The asteroid will be visible in regions of the Northern Hemisphere during its approach phase, practically throughout the world at its closest point and only in the Southern Hemisphere when it moves away from Earth.
In regions of the world where it is nighttime, it can theoretically be seen with small telescopes and even large binoculars, according to ESA.
