8-Meter-Wide Asteroid Will Pass Close to Earth January 27

By Nancy Atkinson - January 26, 2012 at 5:35 PM UTC | Planetary Science
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A small asteroid will pass extremely close to Earth tomorrow (January 27, 2012). Named 2012 BX34, this 11 meter- (36 feet-) wide

8 meter- (26-foot-)

space rock (astronomers have updated their estimates of the size) will skim Earth less than 60,000 km (37,000 miles, .0004 AU)>, at around 15:30 UTC, (10:30 am EST) according to the

Minor Planet Center.

The latest estimates have this small bus-sized asteroid it traveling at about about 8,900 meters/second (about 20,000 miles per hour). 2012 BX34 has been observed by the

Catalina Sky Survey

and the

Mt. Lemmon Survey

in Arizona, and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, so its orbit is well defined and there is no risk of impact to Earth.

Via the

@AsteroidWatch

Twitter feed, scientists from JPL said "It wouldn't get through our atmosphere intact even if it dared to try."

Amateur astronomers in the right place and time could view this object, as it should be about magnitude 14 at the time of closest approach. Click

here to see a current orbit diagram

, and

here to view the ephemeris data.

Nick Howes, with the

Faulkes Telescope Project

said his team is hoping to observe and image the asteroid, -- although they aren't sure if they will be able -- but we hope to share their images later.

Update: see images from astronomers on our latest article regarding 2012 BX34

Hat Tip: Nick Howes

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com