Sky Stream Lights Up Asteroid Day Party Live

The telescopes are ready to flyAsteroid 2024 MKten times Smaller than asteroid 2011 UL21 who visited Earth on June 27, But just as bright. One An unmissable offer With which the celebrations officially beginAsteroid Daythe International Day dedicated to knowledge and observation of near-Earth asteroidsIt is celebrated like every year on June 30.

Asteroid 2024 MK is a very special guest at the party, as its close passing reminds us how It is important to keep an eye out for these potentially dangerous things. orbiting close to our planet. DiscoveryActually it is It happened on June 16th only. Thanks network Atlas telescopesIt is an alert system developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA, and consists of four telescopes (two in Hawaii, one in Chile and one in South Africa). They automatically scan the sky several times each night for moving objects.. The official announcement of the existence of 2024 MK was made on June 19, a few days before its flight.

Orbit of asteroid 2024 MK with a close pass by Earth on June 29, 2024 (Source: Gianluca Masi, Virtual Telescope Project)

In fact, the asteroid reached its closest approach to Earth on Saturday, June 29, at 3.46 p.m. Italian time, passing at a distance of 290,000 kilometers from our planet (about 75% of the distance between the Earth and the Moon). With a diameter ranging between 120 and 260 meters, 2024 MK”It will become one of the brightest objects of its kind seen in modern history.“, confirms astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, scientific director of the Virtual Telescope project and coordinator of Asteroid Day in Italy. At the beginning of the evening, the asteroid lights up in the Pegasus constellation, moving towards the constellation Andromeda. To best appreciate this, the Virtual Telescope organizes a live broadcast on the ANSA science channel .