An asteroid about 2 kilometres in size will pass Earth tonight, about 6.3 million kilometres away from the planet.
Key points:
- Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2 is classed as a potentially hazardous object, and will make an even closer fly-by of Earth in 2079
- It is expected to make its closest approach at 7:56pm AEST
- The observatory tracking the asteroid announced its approach last week, saying it looked similar to a face mask
Classed
as a potentially hazardous object (PHO) — meaning it is bigger than 140
metres in size and within 5 million miles (8.04 million km) of Earth's
orbit — the asteroid known as (52768) 1998 OR2 will pass harmlessly by,
with its closest approach happening 7:56pm AEST.
First spotted in 1998, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has been tracking the space rock ever since.
"Although
this asteroid is not projected to impact Earth, it is important to
understand the characteristics of these types of objects to improve
impact-risk mitigation technologies," the observatory's head of
planetary radar, Anne Virkki, said in a statement.
The asteroid is projected to come even closer to Earth in 2079, when it will be just 1.8 million km away from Earth.
It
is for this reason that the Arecibo Observatory tracks the asteroid, to
ensure plans can be made in future should 1998 OR2 venture too close.
"The
radar measurements allow us to know more precisely where the asteroid
will be in the future, including its future close approaches to Earth,"
said Flaviane Venditti, a research scientist at the observatory.
"In
2079, asteroid 1998 OR2 will pass Earth about 3.5 times closer than it
will this year, so it is important to know its orbit precisely."
The
observatory announced the asteroid's approach last week, saying images
of the rock looked similar to a face mask worn during the coronavirus
pandemic.
"The small-scale topographic features,
such as hills and ridges, on one end of asteroid 1998 OR2 are
fascinating scientifically," Dr Virkki said.
"But since we are all thinking about COVID-19, these features make it look like 1998 OR2 remembered to wear a mask."
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