Asteroid 2004 BL86 Coming Close to Earth!

Get excited sky watchers! There is an asteroid that will be flying by very close to Earth tonight, January 26, 2015! Asteroid 2004 BL86 will come about 745,000 miles from Earth. That is equivalent to about 3 times as far away as the moon is from Earth. This event will not pose any threat to hitting our planet but it will give researchers a chance to observe a major asteroid up close! According to NASA, “Asteroid 2004 BL86 is big — about a third of a mile (a half-kilometer) in size. It will be the closest known asteroid this large to pass near Earth until 2027, when an asteroid called 1999 AN10 flies by.” The best chance at viewing this astronomical event will be from 8pm EST Monday until 1am EST on Tuesday, but it will not be observable by the naked eye. A telescope or binoculars may just do the trick however. OR if you don’t own any of that equipment, no worries! You can watch the event from the comfort of your own computer screen.

Here is the link to the 2004 BL86 asteroid event: http://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2014/12/06/potentially-hazardous-asteroid-357439-2004-bl86-close-encounter-online-event-26-jan-2015/

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