Today, the powerful asteroid will fly at a safe distance from Earth, NASA reports. The “interplanetary intruder” – as the agency calls the asteroid – will approach our planet at the closest point by about 1.25 million miles (about 2 million km). “This will be a valuable scientific opportunity for astronomers,” admits NASA.
Scientists from the US government agency estimate that the width of the asteroid may be as high as 700 meters. Specified by NASA as 2001 F032 will be approx. 2 million kilometers from Earth. For the average person this distance is impossible to imagine, but – as NASA argues – astronomers are already rubbing their hands to look at it closer.
The asteroid is supposed to move much faster than most objects of this type. It is estimated that it will reach a dizzying 77 thousand per hour. miles – this, translated into kilometers, gives a value of approx. 123920 km/h.
“There is no chance of a collision with our planet”
– reassures in the NASA announcement. The agency says it knows the exact 2001 F032 orbital path around the sun. The asteroid was discovered 20 years ago and since then specialists have been closely monitoring the route it covers.
The closest point to Earth 2001 F032 is to reach a few minutes after hours. 12 ET (EST) – in Poland after 5.00 p.m.
Many live broadcasts of the asteroid flyover can be found on the web. We encourage you to observe:
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