A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will pass very close to Earth but safe This Sunday, September 7. At the time of closest approach, at 20:18 (Spanish time), the asteroid will be roughly about New Zealand . For its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 20 meters in size .
The asteroid 2014 RC was discovered on Aug. 31 by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, and independently following night was detected by the telescope Pan-STARRS 1, Maui, Hawaii. Both reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reports NASA.
At the time of closest approach, 2014 RC will be approximately one tenth of the distance from the center of the Earth to the Moon , or about 40,000 km . The apparent magnitude of the asteroid at that time will be approximately 11.5, which makes is not observable to the naked eye . However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes can envision the appearance of fast moving of this asteroid close to Earth.
The asteroid will pass under Earth and geosynchronous orbit communications satellites and meteorological around 36,000 kilometers above the surface of our planet. While this celestial object does not appear to pose a threat to Earth or satellites, its closest approach creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids.
Although 2014 RC not impact the Earth , its orbit will bring it back to the vicinity of our planet in the future. Therefore, the motion of the asteroid will be closely monitored , but have not identified dangerous approaches.
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