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The Virtual Telescope project captured this view of asteroid 2001 FO32 just after it safely crossed Earth. The arrow points to the asteroid.
Gianluca Masi / Virtual telescope project
You can understand how a planet full of stressed people trying to survive a pandemic could get a little panicked at the news of a very large asteroid visiting our cosmic neighborhood. But everything is fine. Asteroid 2001 FO32 passed a safe distance on March 21.
The Virtual Telescope Project (VTP) managed to take an image of the space rock just hours after it was overflown. It appears as a small dot on the image. VTP founder Gianluca Masi called the image “lucky” due to the difficult viewing conditions in the morning twilight.
Asteroids of all sizes fly close to Earth all the time, but sometimes NASA makes a public statement to allay fears when rock space headlines are getting out of hand.
The NASA’s Asteroid Watch Twitter account delivered a reassuring message earlier this month, saying 2001 FO32 “would safely pass beyond Earth at a distance of 1.3 million miles – five times farther than the moon – and pose no risk of hitting Earth . ”
You may have seen the headlines on a #asteroid which will fly safely over Earth on March 21. Although this asteroid, known as 2001 FO32, is large, it will safely pass beyond Earth at a distance of 1.3 million miles – five times farther than the Moon – and show no risk of hitting the earth. pic.twitter.com/oZZG5UaFsf
– NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) March 8, 2021
According to JPL data, the asteroid was first discovered in 2001, so we’ve known about its existence for some time.
One of the reasons the asteroid has attracted special attention is its size. It’s a big ‘one, and initial information suggests it could point with an estimated diameter of up to about a mile (1.7 kilometers). The latest data has reduced that and it could actually be closer to 550 meters in diameter. It is still very heavy.
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NASA and other space organizations do an admirable job of tracking asteroids that come close to Earth. If you are desperate to worry about an asteroid then Apophis – who will make a tight pass in 2029 – is a better candidate, but still nothing to lose sleep over.
Instead, you could spend your energy getting excited NASA’s next DART mission, which will test a method to alter the course of dangerous asteroids.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.
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