Space

Asteroid 2022 ES3 to pass within moon’s distance March 13

Posted by
Gianluca Masi
and
March 13, 2022
Diagram showing orbits of inner planets, Earth and asteroid.
View larger. | Orbits of Earth and near-Earth asteroid 2022 ES3, via Virtual Telescope.

Reprinted from the Virtual Telescope Project

READ: Asteroid discovered March 11, only 2 hours before Earth impact

On March 13, 2022, the near-Earth asteroid 2022 ES3 will have a very close, but safe, encounter with Earth. It’ll come within about 208,000 miles (334,000 km) from the Earth, or 87% of the average distance between the Earth and moon. The Virtual Telescope Project will show it live, online, just at the flyby time. The livefeed will begin at 18:30 UTC on March 13, 2022. Go to Virtual Telescope’s website

Astronomers discovered this asteroid from the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona on March 7, 2022. They announced the discovery the same day.

According to NASA JPL’s Small-Body Database, the asteroid has an estimated diameter in the range of about 30 to 40 feet (10–12 meters).

Bottom line: Near-Earth asteroid 2022 ES3 will have a close, safe encounter with Earth on March 13, 2022. Learn how to watch it live, here.

Go to Virtual Telescope’s website

Posted 
March 13, 2022
 in 
Space

Gianluca Masi

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About the Author:
Gianluca Masi is an Italian astrophysicist and founder of the Virtual Telescope project (part of Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory), consisting in several robotic telescopes, remotely available in real-time over the Internet. Through this system, real-time, online observing sessions are performed, sharing the universe with the world. More than 1 million individuals each year observe the sky through the Virtual Telescope. Gian started his interest in astronomy at childhood, later becoming a professional astronomer, earning a PhD in astronomy in 2006. At the same time, he devoted a lot of efforts to science communication. The asteroid (21795) is named “Masi” in his honor.

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