The asteroid was identified last Saturday by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, from the MARGO observatory, in Nauchnyi, Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
The discovery was later confirmed by other astronomers worldwide.
2023 BU had an estimated size of 3.5 meters to eight meters in diameter.
By comparison, the famous Chelyabinsk meteor, which entered Earth’s atmosphere south of Russia in 2013, was about 20 meters in diameter. And it produced a shock wave that shattered windows as it hit the ground.
NASA scientists claimed that the orbit of 2023 BU was modified by the encounter with Earth: the planet’s gravity pulled on it and adjusted its path in space.
“Before encountering Earth, the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun was approximately circular, approaching Earth’s orbit, taking 359 days to complete the path around the Sun,” said NASA.
According to the US space agency, “after its encounter, the asteroid’s orbit will be more elongated, shifting it to about halfway between the paths of Earth and Mars at the farthest point from the Sun. The asteroid will then complete one orbit every 425 days.”
However, it was one of the closest recorded approaches of an object approaching Earth.
Statistics indicate that only 40 percent of asteroids have been seen and evaluated to determine the level of threat they may pose.
