Asteroid 52768 News: A 4KM Rock Will Zip Past Earth this Month – Astronomers Can Already See It
- Asteroid 52768 News: A 4KM Rock Will Zip Past Earth this Month – Astronomers Can Already See It
by SEBASTIAN KETTLEY, https://www.express.co.uk/, 10 April 2020
AN ASTEROID large enough to be dubbed “potentially hazardous” by NASA has been photographed speeding its way Earthwards.
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The NASA-tracked Asteroid 52768 (1998 OR2) is racing around the solar system on a path that has been dubbed an “Earth-close approach”. But the asteroid does not pose any threat to Earth and instead, its flyby promises to be a great opportunity for astronomers to examine the space rock close-up in space terms.
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The asteroid will zip past our planet on April 29, coming within 3.9 million miles (6.29 million km). According to astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, head of the Virtual Telescope Project, the asteroid will be probably bright enough on the night of the flyby to be seen through even basic telescopes and binoculars.
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Dr Masi told Express.co.uk he snapped a photo of the space rock on April 8, from the Virtual Telescope’s facilities in Ceccano, Italy. The striking image was taken when the asteroid was about 10 million miles (16.1 million km) from Earth.
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