Watch asteroid 2002 AM31 zip by Earth Sunday night via live webcast
21 Jul 2012, 14:01 UTC
An Earth-approaching asteroid discovered in 2002 will be passing through the neighborhood Sunday night (July 22). 2002 AM31, a leftover fragment of rock from the solar system’s youth, will fly safely by Earth at a distance of 3.2 million miles … Continue reading →
2002 AM31 swings by Earth tomorrow evening at 13.7 lunar distances. The diagram shows its position near Earth this morning (July 21). Credit: JPL/NASA
An Earth-approaching asteroid discovered in 2002 will be passing through the neighborhood Sunday night (July 22). 2002 AM31, a leftover fragment of rock from the solar system’s youth, will fly safely by Earth at a distance of 3.2 million miles (13.7 times the distance to the moon) around 8 p.m. (CDT) July 22.
With a diameter estimated between 1,115 and 2,600 feet, 2002 AM31 is bigger than many close approaching asteroids. Pity it won’t be very bright – only 14th magnitude – but savvy amateur astronomers with 10-inch or larger telescopes can track it in the northern sky as it creeps through the constellation Cepheus. To get a list of it hour-by-hour positions that you can plot on a star atlas, click HERE and then click the “Generate Ephemeris” button.
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