How to see the giant asteroid crossing the Earth that same night of Mexico

Vesta, more than 530 kilometers in diameter, has approached our planet in the last month; however, it presents no risk to the Earth, but a unique opportunity to contemplate it.

During the first days of July, one of the largest asteroids of the solar system will be visible in the night sky to the naked eye, that is, no need to. use an optical instrument. Vesta, more than 530 kilometers in diameter, has approached our planet over the last month; however, it presents no risk to the Earth, but a unique opportunity to contemplate it.

Although Vesta's opposition to Earth (the closest point between them) took place in the third week of June, the huge asteroid can be observed from the northern hemisphere until In mid-July.

How to see Mexico's Vesta

That same night it directs the view to the south (you can use an app like StarWalk 2 ] or SkyView to spot you) and find Saturn (which to the naked eye will appear as one of the brightest stars in the region). At the east at a similar height, Vesta should appear before your eyes, just north of Scorpio:

Vesta's position in the night of July 3rd at 23:30. hours from Mexico City

Although we still know little about this asteroid, the NASA Dawn mission closely followed in 2011 and 2012 and after taking photos of its Moon-like rock surface, determined that the accidents and the craters correspond to the huge impacts of other asteroids that have formed its shape as we know it today.

The huge asteroid is part of the Solar System thanks to the gravitational pull of the Sun. Its orbit extends between Mars and Jupiter in the Asteroid Belt, which occupies just over 9% of its total mass. Vesta completes a period of revolution (a return to the Sun) every 3.6 Earth years, a visitor to the cosmic neighborhood that is about 170 million kilometers from our planet, which we can sometimes see in the night sky.