Scientists estimate that the asteroid is between 1,300 and 2,230 feet wide.
The asteroid near Earth, known as FO32 since 2001, will be 1.25 million miles, or more than five times the distance between Earth and the moon, in the nearest proximity.
It will also move much faster than most asteroids flying past our planet, rocketing at 77,000 miles per hour.
The closest approach to the asteroid will take place at 12:03 pm ET on Sunday.
“There is no threat of a collision with our planet now or in the centuries to come,” according to a NASA statement.
“We know exactly the orbital pathway of the 2001 FO32 around the Sun, since it was discovered 20 years ago and has been tracked ever since,” said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, in a statement. . “There is no chance that the asteroid will approach Earth more than 1.25 million miles.”
The center is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Although 2001 FO32 will not be close enough to cause any danger, it is still considered a potentially dangerous asteroid, given its proximity. The Center for Object Studies near Earth tracks and predicts orbits for such objects, using telescopes and radar to determine if they have a chance to affect Earth.
This asteroid moves faster than others due to its angular and elongated orbit around the sun. This orbit brings the asteroid closer to the sun than Mercury, the closest star planet in our solar system and twice as far from Mars, the fourth planet from the sun.
When the 2001 FO32 approaches the inner solar system, it increases its speed. Once it is given back into deep space, it will slow down. The asteroid takes 810 days to complete an orbit, but its next closest passage to Earth will not happen until 2052.
If you have a telescope, you may be able to see the asteroid’s passage depending on where you live.
“The asteroid will be the brightest as it moves through the southern sky,” Chodas said. “Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere and low latitudes should be able to see this asteroid using moderate-sized telescopes with apertures of at least 8 inches on nights leading to the nearest approach, but will probably need star charts to find. “
Opportunity for observation
A tight passage is an excellent chance for scientists to observe this remnant from the formation of the solar system. During flight, they can refine the details of the asteroid’s size and composition. The installation of the agency’s infrared telescope on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii is one of the telescopes that will be used to observe the asteroid.
“We’re trying to do geology with a telescope,” Vishnu Reddy, an associate professor at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, said in a statement. “We will use (the telescope) to get the infrared spectrum to see its chemical structure. Once we know this, we can make comparisons with meteorites on Earth to find out what minerals the 2001 FO32 contains.”
Learning the composition of the asteroid would reveal more about its history.
Three ground radio antennas from California, Australia and Spain, which comprise the Deep Space network, can be used to essentially repel radio signals from the asteroid. They can provide radar observations, such as whether the asteroid has its own moon.
“Observations dating back 20 years have shown that about 15% of asteroids near Earth, comparable in size to FO32 in 2001, have a small moon,” Lance Benner, a senior scientist at JPL, said in a statement. “Little is known about this object today, so a very close encounter provides a remarkable opportunity to learn a lot about this asteroid.”