When to see Asteroid 1998 OR-2 this week? How to spot the 2.5-mile space rock as it soars past Earth
A 2.5-MILE-WIDE asteroid will hurtle past Earth this week – and we’ve got all the info you need to spot it.
The space rock is expected to make its close flyby on Wednesday and is not expected to hit Earth, though Nasa is keeping a close eye on it.
What is asteroid 1998 OR2?
The asteroid 1998 OR2 makes close passes of Earth every few years.
It currently poses no threat to Earth, and is expected to pass on April 29 a safe distance of 4million miles.
That’s about 16 times the distance between Earth and the Moon, which may sound a long way a way, but it’s a lose shave in space terms.
Nasa classes anything that passes within 120million miles of our planet a “Near Earth Object” (NEO) that must be tracked to ensure it doesn’t pose a threat to humanity.
Experts predict that the asteroid is travelling at speeds of roughly 20,00mph.
When will 1998 OR2 pass Earth and how do I spot it?
The space rock is expected to make its close approach just before 10am BST (5am ET) on April 29, according to Nasa’s NEO tracker.
At up to 2.5 miles long, 1998 OR2 is larger than Japan’s enormous Mount Fuji.
That makes it large enough to spot with a small telescope on a clear night. It is currently only visible through professional telescopes.
If you’re struggling to figure out where to look, try using a stargazing smartphone app, such as Night Sky.
For those in the UK, 10am will almost certainly prove a bit too bright to spot the asteroid in the sky – and the weather’s likely going to be dodgy, anyway.
Brit stargazers are better off turning to the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP) in Rome, which will be screening a livestream of the asteroid on April 28, starting at 2pm ET (18:00 GMT).
Apparently, the asteroid will look like a “slow-moving star” as it zips past our planet.
Are asteroids a threat to Earth?
Astronomers are currently tracking nearly 2,000 asteroids, comets and other objects that threaten our pale blue dot, and new ones are found every day.
Earth hasn’t seen an asteroid of apocalyptic scale since the space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs 66million years ago.
However, smaller objects capable of flattening an entire city crash into Earth every so often.
One a few hundred metres across devastated 800 square miles of forest near Tunguska in Siberia on June 30, 1908.
Luckily, Nasa doesn’t believe any of the NEOs it keeps an eye on are on a collision course with our planet.
That could change in the coming months or years, however, as the space agency constantly revises objects’ predicted trajectories.
“Nasa knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small,” Nasa says.
“In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.”
Even if they were to hit our planet, the vast majority of asteroids would not wipe out life as we know it.
“Global catastrophes” are only triggered when objects larger than 900 metres smash into Earth, according to Nasa.
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
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In other space news, Nasa recently snapped a stunning image of a 2,000-foot dust whirlwind raging across Mars.
Mars may have taken as long as 20million years to form, scientists now claim.
And, Nasa has revealed the design of a moon lander that could be taking astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2024.
What are your thoughts on this huge asteroid? Let us know in the comments…
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