Watch online, as asteroid 2018 RC sweeps past

On September 9, 2018, the near-Earth asteroid 2018 RC will have a very close, but safe, encounter with us, coming about 136,000 miles (220,000 km) from the Earth’s surface, or about 50 percent of the lunar distance. The Virtual Telescope Project will show it to you live.

The near-Earth asteroid 2018 RC, discovered by the ATLAS survey (Hawaii) on September 3, 2018, and announced the next day by the Minor Planet Center, has an estimated diameter in the range of 100-230 feet (32-71 meters). Just before its flyby, it will be visible with small (10-cm large or larger) telescopes, as a 12th magnitude dot of light.

At that brightness, the asteroid will not be visible to the eye alone.

The Virtual Telescope Project will show you the asteroid live, so that you can join the journey from the comfort of your home. The live feed will start on September 8, 2018, at 22:00 UTC (6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time; translate UTC to your time), when the asteroid will be close to its maximum brightness.

To join, you just need to enter, at the date and time above, the webTV page here!

Bottom line: The Virtual Telescope Project is presenting an online viewing of newly discovered asteroid 2018 RC on September 8 at 22:00 UTC (6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time; translate UTC to your time). If you want to participate, click here.