The small asteroid 2021 The orbital trajectory of GW4 is represented in white; The Earth’s orbit is described in blue. Image via NASA / JPL.
A recently detected space rock will pass by our planet on Monday, April 12, 2021. It will be extremely close, much closer to geostationary satellites orbiting about 35,786 km above the Earth. The small asteroid has been designated 2021 GW4. It is estimated to have a diameter of about 5 meters. It is a small space rock and there is no risk of impact, astronomers say. NASA / JPL calculations show that the 2021 GW4 asteroid will pass only 19,816 km from the Earth’s surface, which is about 5% of the Earth-moon distance.
The space rock travels at 30,104 km / h at 18,706 miles per hour or 8.36 kilometers per second from Earth. The closest approach to asteroid 2021 GW4 will take place at approximately 13:00 UTC (during the day for the east coast of North America; translate UTC at your time) on Monday, April 12th. Amateur astrophotographers could try to capture the space rock on Sunday night (April 11) as an asteroid will pass very close to where we see the galaxy Messier 95, in the direction of the constellation Leo Leo, as seen from our perspective.
The space rock will not be visible to the naked eye, but should be within reach of camera telescopes.
The location of the asteroid 2021 GW4 – regarding the constellation Leo Leo – on Sunday night, April 11, 2021, as seen in the US Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
Around the evening of Sunday, April 11 (ie halfway between your local sunset and midnight), the van-sized asteroid will be located very close to the group of Leo galaxies. However, the space rock will pass so close to our planet that astrophotographers at different latitudes will “see” the space rock a little closer or farther from Messier 95, an effect known as parallax, caused by distinct perspectives and the proximity of the object.
In fact, observers at latitudes close to Earth’s equator could capture the 2021 GW4 asteroid passing in front of M95, while US observers should capture the space rock passing just below that galaxy.
Do you have a computerized telescope or “GoTo”? Head the instrument to the galaxy Messier 95 on Sunday night, April 11, 2021. Around 22:00 – 22:45 Eastern time, the asteroid 2021 GW4 will be located extremely close to where we see these galaxies, and the space rock should appear as a small stripe in images of a few seconds or minutes of exposure. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
Asteroid 2021 GW4 was discovered on April 8, 2021 using the 59-inch (1.5 meter) telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey at Mt. Lemmon, Arizona.
Bottom line: A small asteroid designated 2021 GW4 will pass extremely close to Earth on Monday, April 12, 2021. It will pass just 19,816 km from Earth’s surface, which is about 5% of the Earth-moon distance. Amateur astronomers using telescopes can see it shortly before the nearest approach passing the Messier 95 galaxy on Sunday night, April 11th.
