STUNNING: Asteroid 2023 BU That Passed South America Was Closer Than Some Satellites
STUNNING: Asteroid 2023 BU That Passed South America Was Closer Than Some Satellites
Written By Digital Desk
With an approach of 3,600km, the space rock known as 2023 BU, whipped over the southern tip of South America on Thursday. Apparently, it was a close shave.
A space rock named ‘2023 BU’ whipped over the southern tip of South America late Thursday night. Although NASA had said that it was harmless, it counted as a close shave with an approach of 3,600km (2,200 miles). The asteroid was the size of a small bus but it illustrated how many undetected asteroids lurked near Earth. There was no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth.
“On Thursday, a small near-Earth asteroid will have a very close encounter with our planet. Designated 2023 BU, the asteroid will zoom over the southern tip of South America at about 4:27 p.m. PST (7:27 p.m. EST) only 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) above the planetâs surface and well within the orbit of geosynchronous satellites,” NASA said on Wednesday in its announcement.
The asteroid was discovered by astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, discoverer of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, from his MARGO observatory in Nauchnyi, Crimea, on Saturday, January 21. Follow-up observations have refined what we know about 2023 BU’s size and crucially, its orbit.
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