Posted on 01/25/2023 9:52:27 AM PST by Red Badger
Asteroid 2023 BU imaged by the Virtual Telescope as it approached Earth in January 2023.
(Image credit: Virtual Telescope Project)
Wednesday, January 25, 2023: A newly discovered asteroid that will pass very close to Earth on Friday has been photographed by an Italian astronomer as it makes its approach.
The space rock, called 2023 BU, is only about 13 to 30 feet (4 to 9 meters) wide, and was discovered last Saturday (Jan. 21) by prolific Crimea-based astronomer and telescope builder Gennadiy Borisov (the same man who discovered the first interstellar comet, which now bears his name, Borisov, in 2018)
The asteroid will pass only 2,240 miles (3,600 kilometers) from Earth's surface on Friday (Jan. 27), becoming the 4th closest asteroid ever observed apart from those that actually struck the planet, according to the Virtual Telescope website(opens in new tab). For comparison, satellites of the global navigation system GPS orbit 12,500 miles (20,200 km) above Earth, about four times farther away.
This image, however, was taken when the asteroid was still quite far, about 360,000 miles (580,000 km) away from us, which is 124,000 miles (200,000 km) farther away than the orbit of the moon.
Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi took the image on Tuesday (Jan. 24) using his robotic Elena telescope located just outside of Rome. – Tereza Pultarova
Let’s just get it over with.
Chill! If you’re masked and vaccinated then you’ll be fine....
Has any asteroid actually been observed striking earth? By people?
So, it will arrive too late for the WEF conference?
Asking for a friend.
Sweet asteroid of death.
Close as a cat’s whiskers!......................
The one in Russia a couple of years back..................
With all the satellites and junk we have in orbit, one day there will be a hit.
.
Get what over with?
Breaking my New Years resolutions?
Way too late for that.
Boy are you behind the curve...
/sarc
People who have had the 4th booster should not read about this. They are already on the verge of a heart attack without any extra excitement.
Maybe; they aren’t saying. Thats the thing about mass extinctions, there’s not a lot of evidence or firsthand accounts.
Yes
Time to panic again...
It would barely be a flesh wound.
Corellian death ray?
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