![]() ![]() The test mission was a success, changing the orbit by 32 minutes. In 2005, using the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, astronomers learned that 1994 XD is a binary asteroid, meaning it’s a larger asteroid with a moonlet orbiting it.Īnother binary asteroid was the target of NASA’s DART mission, which crashed a small spacecraft into the moonlet orbiting asteroid Didymos to test a potential option to redirect an asteroid if one was on a crash course for Earth. Watch this animation of all known asteroids and comets in the solar system between 1999. It was first identified by the Spacewatch group at Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona in December 1994.Īsteroid 1994 XD is estimated to be about 370 to 830 meters (1,214 to 2,723 feet) in diameter, considered small for an asteroid, but it would still tower above most skyscrapers in New York City. Read about NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission, which has collected samples from the asteroid Bennu, from. The name of the asteroid comes from the year it was discovered. Asteroid 1999 VF22 will come slightly closer in 128 years, when it returns. A huge asteroid more than a mile wide will zoom safely by Earth today and you can watch it live today in a free online webcast. And you can use a (large) backyard telescope to watch it slide past. At its nearest approach to our planet, the asteroid will be about eight times the distance between the Earth and the moon or more than 1.9 million miles away.Īsteroid 1994 XD orbits the sun about every 3.6 years and will make another pass by Earth in 2041. The Virtual Telescope will also air its flyby live. There will be plenty of distance between us and the asteroid to enjoy looking for it in the night sky without fear.Īccording to The Virtual Telescope Project, 1994 XD will make a close encounter on June 12, but close is all relative in space. Streaming How to watch the enormous asteroid passing Earth live now By Henry T. In June, there are more than a dozen close approaches NEOS is tracking. NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (NEOS) uses computer modeling to determine asteroid and comet orbits and their odds of hitting Earth. The infamous asteroid Apophis will pass by Earth about 44 times more distant than the moon late on Friday (March 5). While you should not worry about this asteroid hitting Earth, it is considered "potentially hazardous" because its orbit comes within the minimum distance between Earth and the sun to meet the standard, according to NASA. ![]()
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