An asteroid will pass much closer to Earth than a geostationary satellite

was called 2023BU It is an asteroid About to “touch” the ground. It was discovered just five days before its close encounter with our planet, and headed toward our planet in At a speed of about 9.3 kilometers per second. A small celestial body – about the same size as a giraffe Diameter varies between 3.7 and 8.2 metres – which will fly over tip of South America At 19.27 (for us it will be1.27 at nightJan. 27) on the rise About 3600 km from the earth’s surface. To give an idea of ​​what that means, just consider the trajectory of asteroid 2023 BU to pass Closer to us than the path of geostationary satellites.

These are satellites moving up Circular orbit at the equatorial plane It is located at such an altitude that the period of its revolution coincides with the period of Earth’s rotation. practically, They always fly over the same part of the Earth’s surface. We are talking about an altitude equal to 35,790 kilometers.

It is due to the amateur engineer and astronomer Gennady Borisov Asteroid discovery: Jan 21 From the Margot Observatory in Naushny, Crimea. Soon after, the orb was being studied by Spatial Eyes from all over the world. It should be noted that the asteroid 2023 BU, given its small dimensions, It poses no danger.

However, BU 2023 belongs to a group Apollo asteroids, which is potentially dangerous for us precisely because of its possible impact on Earth. It comes with an extension The third asteroidsince the beginning of the year It flies over the planet at a distance smaller than that which separates us from the Moon. It is the fourth closest recorded number. the Virtual Telescope Project sort live online To follow up the phenomenon from the Sekano Observatory in the province of Frosinone, starting at 8:15 pm on January 26.