An asteroid will pass close by Earth this week. Here's how to watch it live

[Admin]

Asteroid 2023 BU will pass Earth at a distance of 2,178 miles (3,506 kilometers) on Thursday (Jan. 26) — closer than satellites in geostationary orbit.

An asteroid will pass close by Earth this week. Here's how to watch it live : Read more

 

[mcswell]

Given how close its perihelion is to Earth's orbit, any chance this is actually an old booster? If it were > or < white, as most such boosters were, it could be considerably smaller than the estimated 4 to 8 meters.

 

[bolide]

Given how close its perihelion is to Earth's orbit, any chance this is actually an old booster? If it were > or < white, as most such boosters were, it could be considerably smaller than the estimated 4 to 8 meters.

No. An old booster would be in Earth orbit.

 

[mcswell]

No. An old booster would be in Earth orbit.

I should have said upper stage. A year ago, J002E3 turned out to be the Saturn IVb stage from Apollo 12 in an interplanetary orbit (and temporarily re-captured by the Earth).

 

[Helio]

Tesla?

 

[mcswell]

Yes, a cherry red one. Should be easy to detect based on the spectrogram!

 

[bolide]

I should have said upper stage. A year ago, J002E3 turned out to be the Saturn IVb stage from Apollo 12 in an interplanetary orbit (and temporarily re-captured by the Earth).

TBH, I wasn't thinking there would be any space junk out there, beyond Earth orbit. But it stands to reason that missions destined for places beyond Earth orbit would leave junk out there, too.