A massive “planet-killer” asteroid will come very close to Earth today (June 27), safely zipping past our planet at about 58,000 mph (93,000 km/h). The “potentially dangerous” mountain-sized object is one of the largest space rocks to pass by Earth in more than a century – and you can watch the close encounter live.
The asteroid, 2011 UL21, is a near-Earth asteroid, meaning its orbit occasionally places it within 1.3 astronomical units (AU) of SUN – or approximately 1.3 times the average distance between the Earth and the Sun.
It orbits our star once every three years. Based on past observations, the space rock is somewhere between 1.1 and 2.4 miles (1.7 to 3.9 kilometers) wide, according to SpaceReference.orgmeaning it is larger than 99% of known near-Earth asteroids, according to European Space Agency (ESA).
2011 UL21 is likely at least 10 times smaller than the largest space rock to ever hit Earthasteroid Vredefort, and about five times smaller than the rock that wiped out the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago.
However, while any potential impact from 2011 UL21 would be less extreme than these historic impacts, the asteroid still has the potential to cause continental-scale damage and eject enough debris into the atmosphere to cause significant climate change, so it is considered a ” planet killer”.
According to simulations from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). At this distance, it is considered a potentially dangerous object from NASA. However, this is still about 17 times farther from our planet than MONDAY.
Although the space rock poses no threat to Earth — now or in the future — it’s interesting because it’s possibly one of the 10 largest asteroids to pass within 4.7 million miles (7.5 million km) of our planet since 1900. Gianluca Massian astrophysicist and director of the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP), wrote in a last statement.
Connected: ‘Planet killer’ asteroids hide in the glare of the sun. Can we stop them in time?
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You can view the closest approach of 2011 UL21 thanks to a free live streaming by VTP, which will share the view of the asteroid from the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Ceccano, Italy. The broadcast begins at 4 pm ET on June 27, with close approach predicted to occur 15 minutes later.
You may also be able to spot the asteroid in the night sky with a good telescope. It will be brightest on June 28 and 29 and should be visible from the Northern Hemisphere if you know where to look. At its brightest, it will have a brightness similar to Proxima Centauri – the closest known star to the sun, according to VTP.
According to JPL Simulations.
There is no chance that any known planet-killing asteroids will collide with Earth for at least the next 1000 years. However, there will be some close calls with smaller asteroids in the coming years. For example, the asteroid Apophis, which is large enough to wipe out an entire city, will do so pass Earth closer than some satellites in 2029.