I got this notice in email from NASA about a surprise asteroid that gave us only one day of warning passing halfway between the Earth and the moon. It was the largest known asteroid to ever pass that close to Earth in observational history.SURPRISE ASTEROID FLYBY: With little warning, on Sunday, April 15th,2018 GE3 was discovered just the day before as it plunged inward from the asteroid belt. A quick-thinking amateur astronomer in Europe was able to record a video of the asteroid as it flew by.With little warning, a relatively large asteroid flew through the Earth-Moon system on April 15th only 192,200 km (0.5 Lunar Distance) from our planet. 2018 GE3 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey approaching Earth on April 14th. Hours later, amateur astronomer Michael Jäger of Weißenkirchen Austria video-recorded the space rock rushing through the southern constellation Serpens:According to Wikipedia , 2018 GE3 is the largest known asteroid to pass that close to Earth in observational history," says Jäger. "It was shining like a 13th magnitude star at the time of my observations."This puts it into the same class as the 60-meter Tunguska impactor that leveled a forest in Siberia in 1908. A more recent point of comparison is the Chelyabinsk meteor-a ~20-meter asteroid that exploded in the atmosphere over Russia on Feb. 15, 2013, shattering windows and toppling onlookers as a fireball brighter than the sun blossomed in the blue morning Ural sky. 2018 GE3 could be 5 to 6 times wider than that object.Based on an observational arc of only 1 day, 2018 GE3 appears to follow an elliptical orbit which stretches from the asteroid belt to deep inside the inner solar system. Every ~2.5 years the space rock crosses the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars - although not necessarily making close approaches to the planets themselves.NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory has made an interactive orbit viewer available online here </s> A small asteroid — which had just been discovered earlier in the day — disintegrated over Africa on Saturday, NASA said.

The tiny space rock, roughly six feet long, entered Earth’s atmosphere at the high speed of 38,000 mph and broke apart several miles above the surface, creating a bright fireball that lit up the evening sky, the agency said.

The event was witnessed by a number of observers and was caught on webcam video.

The object surprised astronomers shortly after its discovery, when its trajectory suggested it would pass very, very close to Earth just hours later, according to EarthSky.org.

When it was spotted, astronomers realized there was a possibility of an Earth impact. However, the asteroid was determined to be very small and therefore harmless.

“This was a much smaller object than we are tasked to detect and warn about,” said Lindley Johnson, Planetary Defense Officer at NASA Headquarters. “However, this real-world event allows us to exercise our capabilities and gives some confidence our impact prediction models are adequate to respond to the potential impact of a larger object.”

The object was first given the temporary designation of ZLAF9B2, but has now been renamed as asteroid 2018 LA by the International Astronomical Union.

It was much smaller than the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 2013, which was an estimated 60 feet wide. That meteor broke windows in six Russian cities and caused more than 1,500 people to seek medical attention, mostly due to injuries from flying glass, EarthSky said.

These are the discovery observations of asteroid 2018 LA from the Catalina Sky Survey, taken June 2, 2018. About eight hours after these images were taken, the asteroid entered Earth's atmosphereand disintegrated in the upper atmosphere near Botswana, Africa. </s> Grab your telescope and get ready – an asteroid will make a very close approach to the Earth Wednesday.

In astronomical terms, peanut-shaped 2014 JO25 will fly within 4.6 lunar distances of the Earth. Since the distance from the Earth to the Moon is approximately 236,000 miles, this means 2014 JO25 will miss the earth by a margin of 1.1 million miles.

Right next door, really, when you think of the vast universal distances.

The asteroid is approximately 2,000 feet in size. It’s the closest an asteroid of any size has come to the Earth since 3.1 mile wide Asteroid Toutatis waved hello in September 2004 on its way by.

Asteroid 2014 JO25 will be visible starting Wednesday in the night sky in small optical telescopes for one or two nights. Its surface is twice as reflective as the moon, and should brighten to magnitude 11.

Brightness of stars is assigned a number starting with the brightest star at about -1 magnitude. Dimmer stars are zero or positive numbers. The larger the number means the dimmer the star is. A star -1 magnitude is brighter than a star 0 magnitude.

Watch the video animation from NASA showing the flyby in the video player above

The asteroid was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona — a project of NASA’s NEO Observations Program in collaboration with the University of Arizona.

Small asteroids pass within this distance of Earth several times each week, so there really is nothing to worry about.

The next known encounter of an asteroid of comparable size will occur in 2027 when the half-mile-wide asteroid 1999 AN10 will fly by at one lunar distance, about 236,000 miles (380,000 kilometers).

The encounter is providing an outstanding opportunity to study this asteroid, and astronomers plan to observe it with telescopes around the world to learn as much about it as possible.

Radar observations are planned at NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and the National Science Foundation’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The resulting radar images could reveal surface details as small as a few meters.

This is the closest 2014 JO25 has come to Earth for about 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years.

Also on Wednesday, the comet PanSTARRS will have its closest approach to Earth, at a very safe distance of 109 million miles.

A faint fuzzball in the sky when it was discovered in 2015 by the Pan-STARRS survey team using a telescope on the summit of Haleakala, Hawaii, the comet has brightened considerably due to a recent outburst and is now visible in the dawn sky with binoculars or a small telescope. </s> Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR Image caption This composite of 30 images of asteroid 2014 JO25 was generated using Nasa's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert

A large asteroid the size of the Rock of Gibraltar has passed safely by Earth.

The object, measured to be almost a kilometre wide, came within five times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Known as 2014 JO25, the asteroid is the biggest such space rock to skim our world since 2004.

Astronomers say the best opportunity to view the rock will come in the dark hours of Wednesday night.

Radar imagery using Nasa's 70m (230 ft) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California reveal a peanut-shaped asteroid that rotates about once every five hours.

The asteroid passed Earth at a distance of 1.8 million km (1.1 million miles) at 13:24 BST on Wednesday, 19 April.

The next known encounter of an asteroid of about this size will occur in 2027 when the 800m-wide (half-mile-wide) asteroid 1999 AN10 will fly by at one lunar distance, about 380,000 km (236,000 miles). </s> A 2,000-foot-long asteroid, almost twice the size of the Rose Bowl, will zip safely past Earth on Wednesday at a distance of about 1.1 million miles, about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon.

Although there is no possibility the asteroid, with the ungainly name of 2014 JO25, could collide with our planet, it will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size, NASA said.

“Close is kind of a relative term,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Lada said. “The closest it’s going to be to the Earth is more than a million miles away.”

It's the closest this asteroid has come to Earth for at least the past 400 years and will be its closest approach for at least the next 500 years.

NASA said the approach is the closest by any known asteroid of this size since the 3.1-mile-wide asteroid Toutatis approached within about four lunar distances in September 2004. Not until 2027 will we have another shot at seeing a big rock tumble so close by, Sky and Telescope said.



 The asteroid is so massive that astronomy website Slooh.com nicknamed it after popular movie star Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock.

The flyby should also be visible with amateur telescopes, beginning in the early morning hours on Wednesday and then again that night, according to EarthSky.org. Wednesday morning, it can be spotted in the northern sky near the constellation of Draco.

Wednesday night, asteroid 2014 JO25 will pass though the constellations Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices in the eastern sky.

The asteroid was discovered in May 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Ariz. </s> A small asteroid discovered Saturday morning, determined to head for Earth, impacted the planet's atmosphere just a few hours later, according to NASA.

The cosmic boulder, named asteroid 2018 LA (and previously listed as ZLAF9B2), was estimated to be only about 6 feet (2 meters) across. It was first spotted by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona.

"The discovery of asteroid 2018 LA is only the third time that an asteroid has been discovered to be on an impact trajectory," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), in a statement. "It is also only the second time that the impact location was predicted well ahead of the event itself."

All three asteroids burned up in the atmosphere and caused no reported damage.

NEO watchers calculated that asteroid 2018 LA would enter the atmosphere somewhere over a corridor extending from Africa across the Indian Ocean to Papua New Guinea.

The final moments of the asteroid's existence appear to have been caught Saturday evening from a webcam in South Africa in the below clip. Although it looks like the fireball impacts the ground, it is really just disappearing over the horizon. NASA says it disintegrated several miles over the surface as it lit up the sky.

"This was a much smaller object than we are tasked to detect and warn about," said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA Headquarters. "However, this real-world event allows us to exercise our capabilities and gives some confidence our impact prediction models are adequate to respond to the potential impact of a larger object."

One such larger object was the asteroid that went completely undetected until it collided with the atmosphere over Russia in 2013, creating a shock wave that blew out thousands of windows in the town of Chelyabinsk, causing a number of minor injuries.

How much it's worth freaking out over these undetected or late-detected asteroids is up for debate. The smallest asteroids like 2018 LA are the hardest to spot, but also the least likely to do any damage. That said, it can never hurt to have more telescopes and eyes pointed at the sky looking for the next space rock aiming to knock on our door ... or break it down.

Solving for XX: The tech industry seeks to overcome outdated ideas about "women in tech." </s> An Asteroid Is Swinging By Earth Today For Its Closest Visit In 400 Years

Earth is welcoming a rather hefty visitor to the neighborhood Wednesday — an asteroid that hasn't swung by these parts in roughly 400 years. About as big as the Rock of Gibraltar, asteroid 2014 JO25 is coming so close that its visit should be visible even to small telescopes.

But no need to panic, NASA says.

"Although there is absolutely no chance that the asteroid will collide with our planet, this will be a very close approach for an asteroid of this size," the space agency says in a statement.

At its closest approach, which should occur around midday ET Wednesday, the asteroid will be a little over a million miles away — or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon. Though NASA says that distance is comfortable enough to ensure there will be no collision, it is nevertheless classified as a "potentially hazardous asteroid" due to the way its orbit intersects Earth's.

First spotted in 2014 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey — a collaboration between NASA's Near-Earth Objects Observation Program and the University of Arizona — JO25 looks a bit like a big barbell.

"The asteroid has a contact binary structure — two lobes connected by a neck-like region," explains Shantanu Naidu, a scientist from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The agency says the larger of these lobes is a little more than a third of a mile wide.

But astronomers hope the visit will yield more information about its size, shape and surface features. Over the next several days, they will be probing it with deep space radar, a technique the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert has already used to cobble together 30 grainy — yet illuminating — images of the asteroid from multiple angles.

It will be another decade before an asteroid of JO25's size passes by Earth. As member station KQED notes, 1999 AN10 is expected to buzz by Earth in 2027 at a distance roughly equivalent to the space between Earth and the moon.

It'll be a much longer wait to see JO25 again, though. Astronomers say it won't return to these parts for another half a millennium.

So, amateur space-sleuths, don't miss your chance to catch it before it goes.

Either point your telescopes toward the constellation Coma Berenices, which KQED reports the asteroid will be passing through, or just let Slooh Community Observatory do it for you. The network of telescope feeds will be live-streaming the event starting at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday. </s> A massive asteroid is all set to fly extremely close to Earth today, at the speed of 14,092 miles per hour. And if the speed isn't shocking enough – the asteroid is as huge as the Empire State Building.

Dubbed as 2017 VR12, the asteroid is expected to pass within 900,000 miles of Earth around 7:53am (EST) on Wednesday. Its diameter is between 700ft and 1,500ft – making it bigger than the Empire State Building, which is 1,450ft tall.

NASA has labelled the VR12 a 'potentially hazardous asteroid' due to the close proximity with Earth. Typically, if asteroids come within 4,600,000 miles of Earth, the space agency labels them as hazardous.

This particular one is scheduled to make its trip past Earth on late Wednesday – at a distance of 897,000 miles – which is three times the distance between our planet and the moon.

However, NASA has also assured that there is no possibility for the 2017 VR12 to collide with Earth. If anything, the agency believes the asteroid could be a perfect target for future aerospace studies.

"This object is on the NHATS list of potential spacecraft mission targets, although no mission is actually planned for this object," the agency explained. "It should be a very strong radar target," they added.

Initially experts had estimated that the VR12 was about 470 metres wide, leading them to believe that the asteroid was the size of the Buckingham Palace. And while those estimates have been reduced, NASA is still classifying it as a 'medium sized rock.'

As NASA revealed, the 2017 VR12 was first discovered by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii on November 10, 2017. It is also not supposed to come within Earth's range for another 177 years or so.

The live action of the asteroid zooming past Earth can be caught by people all over the world, via the Virtual Telescope project through a live webcast.

Stargazers can watch the asteroid using the 16-inch robotic telescope at the Tenagra Observatories in Arizona, which is a part of the Virtual Telescope Project and Tenagra Observatories. </s> A monster asteroid the size of the Empire State Building is set to fly past Earth tomorrow at a dizzying speed of 14,092 miles per hour.

The asteroid, dubbed 2017 VR12, is expected to pass within 900,000 miles of Earth around 7:53am (EST) on Wednesday.

With a diameter between 700ft and 1,500ft, VR12 could be bigger than New York City's Empire State Building, which is 1,450ft tall.

VR12's close encounter to Earth has earned it the designation of a 'potentially hazardous asteroid' by NASA.

The space agency describes asteroids as 'hazardous' if they come within 4,600,000 miles of our planet.

Late Wednesday evening, VR12 will fly past earth at a distance of 897,000 miles.

That's three times distance between our planet and the moon.

However, NASA cautioned that there's no possibility that 2017 VR12 will collide with Earth.

In fact, the agency believes the asteroid could be a perfect target for future aerospace studies.

'This object is on the NHATS list of potential spacecraft mission targets, although no mission is actually planned for this object,' the agency explained.

'It should be a very strong radar target,' they added.

VR12 was previously estimated to be as much as 470 meters wide, causing experts to believe that it was bigger than Buckingham Palace.

Those estimates have since been reduced, but NASA is still classifying VR12 as a 'medium sized rock.'

According to NASA, 2017 VR12 was first discovered by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii on Nov. 10, 2017.

It's not supposed to come within Earth's range for another 177 years or so.

Thanks to the virtual telescope project, people all over the world will be able to see the skyscraper-sized asteroid zoom past the earth using a live webcast.

Stargazers can watch the VR12 fly by the earth using the 16-inch robotic telescope at the Tenagra Observatories in Arizona as part of the Virtual Telescope Project and Tenagra Observatories.

VR12 is passing by just a few days after a bus-sized asteroid, 2018 DV1, came within 65,000 miles of our planet last week.

The DV1 has a diameter between 20 to 40 feet and flew past at a speed of 11,600mph.
The Zwicky Transient Facility in California discovers a large Atira asteroid, 2019 AQ3, an asteroid with a diameter of 1.4 kilometres (0.87 miles) that stays closer to the Sun during its orbit than any other known asteroid, passing from inside the orbit of Mercury to just outside the orbit of Venus.