Asteroid of several kilometers traveled by the Earth will pass by the Earth this weekend

An asteroid binary spotted for the first time 20 years ago is ready for another close encounter with Earth this week.

ESA is following the pair, known as the 1999 KW4, and says it is getting brighter as it approaches the planet before the May 25th approach.

Although classified as "potentially dangerous", the 1999 KW4 should work safely; At its closest, the object will be less than 3,216,271 miles from Earth, or 13.5 times the distance from the moon.

The 1999 KW4 asteroid is not one but two objects. It is about a larger space rock measuring about 1.3 km wide and a small companion that makes it spin.

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ESA is following the pair, known as the 1999 KW4, and says it is getting brighter as it approaches the planet before the May 25th approach. At its closest, the object will be less than 3,216,271 miles from Earth, or 13.5 times the distance from the moon.

ESA cast a fuzzy eye on the pair of asteroids this week before its close-up approach.

The space agency, in collaboration with the Makes Observatory of the French island of La Réunion, captured the first ground observations of 1999 KW4 as part of the ongoing IAWN observation campaign.

And, they will all have their hands on the bridge for the coming meeting.

"The aim is to test observatories and telescopes to find out what kind of information can be collected in the near future in the event of an impending proximity of a potentially threatening asteroid," says ESA.

Dozens of telescopes will connect to collect sightings, ESA said.

The 1999 KW4 asteroid was discovered on May 20, 1999 by the LINEAR collaboration with the help of the Goldstone and Arecibo observatories.

It rotates around the sun every 186 days on an elliptical trail.

The object has come closer to the Earth many times over the last century and will be even more so when it approaches next in May 2036.

Then it is expected to be 1,487,292 miles away.

Past observations have revealed that the 1999 KW4 asteroid was very much like a strange "rubble pile", according to the observatory of Las Cumbres.

"The main body (primary) of 1999 KW4 is about 1,300 meters, but it is a fairly complex form," note the researchers.

"It is slightly crushed at the poles and with a mountain ridge around the equator, which runs all around the asteroid," according to the observatory.

& # 39; This edge gives the primary an appearance similar to that of a walnut or a spinning top.

"The secondary is about 500 meters in diameter and the two asteroids gravitate about their orbit every 17.5 hours at a distance of about 2.5 km."

The forthcoming approach will provide even more information on its behavior, which will prove useful for future missions supported by the NASA Global Defense Coordination Office, which aim to study similar systems.