Earth Faces a Close Weekend Flyby From a Large Asteroid

  • تاريخ النشر: منذ 8 ساعات زمن القراءة: دقيقة قراءة

NASA radar refines 1997 NC1 size and shape as it passes Earth safely this weekend

The Closest Approach Comes on Saturday

The Asteroid Will Miss Earth Safely

Its Speed Reaches 8.9 Kilometres Per Second

Earlier Size Estimates Covered a Wide Range

Radar Suggests It Is Smaller Than One Kilometre

It Was Discovered Nearly 29 Years Ago

It Carries a Potentially Hazardous Classification

Small Telescopes May Reveal It

Scientists Are Using the Flyby for Radar Research

Another Similar Pass Will Not Come Soon

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A large near-Earth asteroid is making a rare weekend pass through Earth’s neighbourhood. Asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 reaches its closest point on Saturday, June 27, but European Space Agency calculations give the encounter a zero probability of impact.

The flyby matters because the object is unusually large for such a close approach. New NASA radar observations have also produced an unexpected update about its size, shape and rotation shortly before it passes.

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