Asteroid 2001 FO32 Will Safely Pass by Earth March 21 at 17.05 Paris Time , providing astronomers a rare opportunity to get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the dawn of our solar system.
During this approach, 2001 FO32 will pass by at about 77,000 mph (124,000 kph) – faster than the speed at which most asteroids encounter Earth. The reason for the asteroid’s unusually speedy close approach is its highly inclined and elongated (or eccentric) orbit around the Sun, an orbit that is tilted 39 degrees to Earth’s orbital plane. This orbit takes the asteroid closer to the Sun than Mercury and twice as far from the Sun as Mars.
The one codenamed 2001 FO32 is characterized by its size: it is 97% larger than other known asteroids. Its diameter is estimated between 0.767 and 1,714 km.
Asteroid 2001 FO32 Will Safely Pass by Earth March 21
Link in French of the image : Le plus gros astéroïde à frôler la Terre en 2021 passera le dimanche 21 mars
During this approach, 2001 FO32 will pass by at about 77,000 mph (124,000 kph) – faster than the speed at which most asteroids encounter Earth. The reason for the asteroid’s unusually speedy close approach is its highly inclined and elongated (or eccentric) orbit around the Sun, an orbit that is tilted 39 degrees to Earth’s orbital plane. This orbit takes the asteroid closer to the Sun than Mercury and twice as far from the Sun as Mars.
The one codenamed 2001 FO32 is characterized by its size: it is 97% larger than other known asteroids. Its diameter is estimated between 0.767 and 1,714 km.
Asteroid 2001 FO32 Will Safely Pass by Earth March 21
Link in French of the image : Le plus gros astéroïde à frôler la Terre en 2021 passera le dimanche 21 mars
