Today (March 3), a massive asteroid will pass safely past Earth, and you can see it live online.
The Virtual Telescope Project intends to webcast live telescope images of asteroid 138971 (2001 CB21) as it approaches Earth. Although the space rock is legally classed as “possibly dangerous,” there is no reason to be concerned. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), the asteroid will pass by at roughly 13 times the typical Earth-moon distance (3 million miles, or 4.9 million kilometers).
READ MORE: In the Season 2 finale of ‘Euphoria,’ A major character was supposed to die.
According to CNEOS, the diameter of asteroid 2001 CB21 is between 1,800 feet (560 meters) and 0.7 miles (1.2 kilometers). That’s roughly the size of Chicago’s Navy Pier.
The event for the Virtual Telescope Project begins at 10 p.m. EST (0300 GMT Thursday, March 4). Typically, the initiative makes use of Gianluca Masi’s telescope near Rome. “The possibly dangerous asteroid (138971) 2001 CB21 will fly past our planet in a pretty close and safe flyby,” Masi said in a statement. “The Virtual Telescope Project will show you it live and online: join us from the comfort of your own home!”
If you need a telescope or binoculars to identify asteroids like this one, check out our guides to the best binoculars bargains and the best telescope offers right now. Our finest astrophotography cameras and best astrophotography lenses can also assist you in selecting the best image equipment.
NASA monitors asteroids through a network of partner telescopes and space observations coordinated by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office. Although no imminent threats have been identified, the agency is continuing its search to remain proactive.
The organization also conducts testing on asteroid defense technology (not that we need them yet), such as one that will soon arrive at an asteroid moon. The DART spacecraft will collide with a minor asteroid named Dimorphos in late September or early October 2022, altering its orbit around its bigger partner, Didymos.
We know around 750,000 asteroids in all, but the great majority will never approach close to Earth. Scientists have discovered over 27,000 near-Earth asteroids, with new ones being discovered on a daily dailyly dangerous asteroids are defined as space rocks that are brighter above a given threshold (implying a specific size, though the correlation isn’t perfect) and pass within 4.65 million miles (7.48 million km) of Earth. (It is one-twentieth the usual distance between Earth and the sun.)
For latest updates and details visit GeeksULTD
