ASTEROID: An unusual “double asteroid” is now approaching Earth’s vicinity and will pass us by today.
This we have learned from Farmers’ Almanac and its contributing astronomer, Joe Rao.
The asteroid, named the 1999 KW4, consists of a primary space rock, measured at a nearly a mile wide, and a companion asteroid that is 0.3 miles wide. This companion orbits the primary rock, earning it the nickname “asteroid moon.”
The rock is an Aten-type space rock, meaning that its orbit brings it between the orbits of Venus and Earth and will actually cross Earth’s orbit. This double asteroid orbits the sun once every 188 days, or 6.18 months. Sadly, most of us will not be able to see the asteroid this evening as it streaks past the Earth.
However, we do know these facts about it: first, the asteroid will pass us at 7:05 p.m. today. It will pass at a distance of 3,219,955 miles — or about 13.5 times the distance of the Moon from Earth. Next, today’s approach of 1999 KW4 will be the closest of an object that large. The next event of an asteroid similar in size will be in June 2027.
Unless you have some fancy equipment, you won’t be seeing this space rock. Farmers Almanac says the brightest it will be is about 250 times fainter than the faintest star we can see with our naked eye.
Astronomers plan to use both the Goldstone 230-foot radar antenna, owned by NASA and located in the Mojave Desert, and the 1,000-foot radar dish at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to bounce radio waves off of the asteroid and find a more accurate size measurement.
Currently, there are almost 2,000 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, or PHAs, that could be on a collision course with Earth. That includes 1999 KW4. That list grows constantly, as new PHAs are discovered regularly.
The good news, at least for today, is that we have dodged another asteroid-sized bullet — this one a mile wide.
