Spacers

Asteroid To Buzz Earth Wednesday

Spacers Quickie
A small asteroid is set to buzz the Earth on Wednesday. 2010 AL30 is just 36 feet wide and will make its closest approach about 7:45am EST, passing within 80,000 miles of Earth. There is no chance of an impact and the object will not be visible with the naked eye, but may be picked up with a reasonable powered telescope - but you have to know where to look.

The weird orbit of 2010 AL30, an ellipse almost exactly 1 year long, has some astronomers suggesting that it may in fact be man-made - possibly an old rocket body launched in the early days of space exploration.

The asteroid will pass through the constellations of Orion, Taurus, and Pisces as it makes its pass, so there will be some familiar markers to make observing it a little easier.

Happy Buzzing, Spacers!

SpaceHead