A very large asteroid is hurtling past close to Earth for the next week.
His name is 2001 FO32.
It's faster than most asteroids.
A spectacle for amateur astronomers too.
Munich - The asteroid 2001 FO32 has a diameter of at least one kilometer, announced the US space agency NASA.
The scientists have been following the asteroid's path for a very long time.
Now the time has come: In 2001, the FO32 flies past the earth at around 124,000 kilometers per hour.
According to NASA, the mega asteroid is traveling faster than most asteroids.
But its flyby is, according to NASA, a rare opportunity to get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the beginning of our solar system.
Asteroid 2001 FO32 classified as "potentially dangerous asteroid"
"We know the 2001 orbital path of FO32 around the Sun very well, as it was discovered 20 years ago and has been tracked ever since," says Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), as on the NASA website is to be read.
The asteroid passes the earth at a distance of around two million kilometers.
Astronomically speaking, this distance is very close, therefore FO32 is classified as a "potentially dangerous asteroid" in 2001.
According to the researchers, the asteroid is approaching unusually quickly.
Its strongly inclined and elongated (or eccentric) orbit around the sun, an orbit that is 39 degrees inclined to the orbit of the earth, is the reason for this.
When is Asteroid 2001 FO32 closest to Earth?
The asteroid FO32 was first discovered in 2001 in March 2001 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) and based on optical measurements it was estimated to be one kilometer long.
According to later measurements, the gem could be a bit smaller, admits NASA.
Nonetheless, according to the US agency, F032 is still the largest asteroid to whisk past this close to our planet in 2021.
The 1998 OR2 on April 29, 2020 caused a stir.
The asteroid was larger, but FO32 will be three times closer to Earth.
Astronomers are preparing for March 21, 2021.
Various telescopes target the asteroid FO32 2001.
When sunlight hits the surface of the asteroid, the researchers hope to get a rough idea of its composition.
Are they minerals, such as those found in meteorites, or a lot of carbon?
That could mean that it could be the core of a long-dead comet.
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A mega-asteroid is approaching our planet on March 21, 2021.
NASA has a close look at asteroid 2001 F032.
© AFP PHOTO / NASA / UH / IFA
After its brief visit, the F032 will continue its journey in 2001 and will not come so close to Earth again until 2052.
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