On Saturday, the asteroid will pass close to Earth without risk of impact and will be visible through small telescopes or large binoculars. “A close pass of Earth by an object of this size only occurs once every few years, although this time the bright and nearby Moon may interfere with its observation at the moment” when the asteroid is closest, warns Juan Luis Cano of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Planetary Defense Office.
Size discrepancies
Discovered in 1997 and named (152637)1997 NC1, the rocky body measures approximately 750-1650 meters in size, according to calculations based on an estimate of its albedo (the amount of sunlight it reflects, editor’s note). However, according to other estimates, this albedo may be less, ESA clarifies.
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It will pass closest to Earth on Saturday at 1:14 p.m. Paris time, speed 8.9 km/s. It would then be 2,559,461 km from our planet, or 6.66 times the Earth-Moon distance, making the probability of a collision zero.
The asteroid will be visible from regions of the Northern Hemisphere during the approach stage, almost everywhere during its closest flyby, and only from the Southern Hemisphere as it moves away from the Earth. In regions of the world where it will be dark, it could theoretically be admired through small telescopes or even large binoculars, ESA points out.