16 hours ago

Watch live online as an asteroid the size of a commercial jet passes within Earth-moon distance on Sept. 3 (video)

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

 An illustration of an asteroid passing close to Earth.

An illustration of an asteroid passing close to Earth. | Credit: ANDRZEJ WOJCICKI/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

A recently discovered asteroid roughly the size of a commercial jet will pass within 1 lunar distance of Earth on Sept. 3. Here's how you can watch the flyby live online, courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project.

The near-Earth asteroid designated 2025 QD8 is expected to pass roughly 135,465 miles (218,009 kilometers) from our planet — roughly 57% the Earth-moon distance — at 10:57 a.m. ET (1456 GMT) on Sept. 3.

2025 QD8 has an estimated diameter ranging between 55 and 124 feet (17 and 38 meters) and will pose no risk to the Earth or moon when it makes its close approach later this week, while travelling at a blistering speed of over 28,000 miles per hour (45,000 kmph) relative to our planet.

The Virtual Telescope Project is set to host a free YouTube stream covering the flyby starting at 7 p.m. ET (23:00 GMT) on Sept. 3, which will feature live views of the asteroid captured by the organization's suite of robotic telescopes in Manciano, Italy.

White points of light representing stars are visible against a dark background. A white arrow points to the position of a point of light representing a distant asteroid.

An image of asteroid 2025 QD8 as captured by The Virtual Telescope Project. | Credit: Image by Gianluca Masi, The Virtual Telescope Project

On Aug. 30, the Virtual Telescope Project succeeded in capturing an image of the asteroid from a distance of roughly 2.4 million miles (3.9 million km) as it sped towards our planet using a 17-inch telescope that has been lovingly nicknamed "Elena." The 300-second exposure shows the wandering solar system body as a minute dot, barely distinguishable among the stellar giants populating the distant starfield beyond.

Related Stories:

James Webb Space Telescope takes 1st look at interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS with unexpected results

Interstellar invader Comet 3I/ATLAS is packed with water ice that could be older than Earth

NASA's Psyche asteroid probe beams home haunting view of distant Earth (photo)

NASA and its partners have discovered tens of thousands of asteroids with trajectories that bring them close to Earth's orbit, which include thousands of potentially hazardous objects that could one day collide with our planet.

However, the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has stated that it is highly unlikely that an asteroid capable of causing widespread damage will strike Earth in the next 100 years.

Read Entire Article

Comments

News Networks