Fascinating.
An asteroid that is said to be four times the size of the Shard in London is on its way to bypass Earth.
According to Nasa’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies, the asteroid will be making a close approach to Earth on March 4 at about 7.59 a.m GMT.
The asteroid is known as 2001 CB21 and is being classed by astronomers as “potentially hazardous”, with an estimated diameter in the range of 560 – 1300 meters (1,837 – 4,265 feet), travelling at about 36,800 miles per hour.
Being the tallest building in Western Europe, the Shard is 310 meters (1,016 feet) high, in comparison.
Nasa says that any asteroids that come within less than 7.5 million km of Earth are “potentially hazardous” but when it comes to this one, experts have assured that we don’t have to be worried.
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (138971) #2001CB21 was captured last night while safely approaching us. Here they are our latest image 📸 and video 📽️
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Enjoy here: https://t.co/gQdNRK3q6O pic.twitter.com/O8eutfM4JG— Virtual Telescope (@VirtualTelescop) February 24, 2022
It is expected to come as close as three million miles to Earth, which is 12 times the distance between the Moon and the Earth.
While we’re not in danger from this asteroid, it does give sky watchers and amateur astronomers an exciting opportunity as they will be able to see the asteroid’s approach online or with a small telescope.
Right now it is too faint to see with most backyard telescopes, but it has been spotted with larger ones.
The Virtual Telescope Project, a remote observatory founded by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy, has been keeping an eye on the asteroid for the last month, releasing new images of it as it passes through space.
“2001 CB21 will have a relatively close and obviously safe fly-by with our planet, coming at about 4.9 millions of km from the Earth,” said Masi in a blog post inviting people to watch a Livestream of the encounter.
The live feed will start on 4 March 2022 at 3.00 p.m GMT.
