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The smiling asteroid-shaped skull that makes an appearance on Halloween in 2015 will be a bit late to deceive or treat this year.
The asteroid, officially known as 2015 TB145 asteroid, looked like a skull when it appeared on Oct. 31, three years ago, giving it the name of "The Great Pumpkin" . Then he missed the start of 300,000 miles. This year, it will make its appearance on November 11 and will be 25 million kilometers from Earth, about a quarter of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, according to NASA.
"This time, the distance is not enough (on Earth) to exceed the point of light," said CNP's Paul Chodas, head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Chodas said that the trajectory of the asteroid was well understood and that the asteroid posed no risk to the Earth.
In 2015, the comet had a width of about 2,000 feet. It is probably smaller now and corresponds to what is called a "dead" comet, that is to say that it loses its volatile substances during its journeys around the sun.
The comet will make another appearance in Halloween in the future, but you will have to wait until 2088 for a visit on October 31, where it will zoom in on about 20 lunar distances from the Earth. Its orbit will bring it closer to Venus and Mercury in 2024, 2028 and 2037.
The 2015 TB145 asteroid was discovered on October 10, 2015 by the University of Hawaii's UAV and Rapid Reaction System in Haleakala, Maui.
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