Large Asteroid to Safely Pass Earth on Sept. 1

Asteroid Florence, a large near-Earth asteroid, will pass safely by Earth on Sept. 1, 2017, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles, (7.0 million kilometers, or about 18 Earth-Moon distances). Florence is among the largest near-Earth asteroids that are several miles is size; measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE mission indicate it’s about 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) in size.

Asteroid Florence, a large near-Earth asteroid, will pass safely by Earth on Sept. 1, 2017, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began.

This relatively close encounter provides an opportunity for scientists to study this asteroid up close. Florence is expected to be an excellent target for ground-based radar observations.

Radar imaging is planned at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and at the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The resulting radar images will show the real size of Florence and also could reveal surface details as small as about 30 feet (10 meters).

Asteroid Florence was discovered by Schelte "Bobby" Bus at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia in March 1981. It is named in honor of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of modern nursing.

The 2017 encounter is the closest by this asteroid since 1890 and the closest it will ever be until after 2500.

Florence will brighten to ninth magnitude in late August and early September, when it will be visible in small telescopes for several nights as it moves through the constellations Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus.

Radar has been used to observe hundreds of asteroids. When these small, natural remnants of the formation of the solar system pass relatively close to Earth, deep space radar is a powerful technique for studying their sizes, shapes, rotation, surface features and roughness, and for more precise determination of their orbital path. (NASA)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

El Niño linked to widespread crop failures

The El Niño climate cycle has been responsible for widespread simultaneous crop failure in different regions of the world, a study has found, putting pressure on countries to prepare for future weather events.

The Rhythms of Sign Language

From an outside perspective, understanding a spoken language versus a signed language seems like it might involve entirely different brain processes.

Cretaceous baby snake fossil found in Myanmar

A team of researchers from China, Canada, the United States, and Australia published on Wednesday their discovery of an early fossilized baby snake, reportedly the oldest ever found, in a piece of amber in the middle of a sandstone deposit in Myanmar.

Lychee deaths linked to pesticides, not the fruit

Recurrent outbreaks of acute encephalitis syndrome among children in India and Bangladesh could be down to exposure to agrochemicals used in lychee orchards rather than consumption of the fruit of the Asian lychee tree, according to recent research.

Owls' Wings Key to Beating Wind Turbine Noise

A new study has revealed how inspiration from owls’ wings could allow aircraft and wind turbines to become quieter.

Arsenic-breathing microbes discovered in the tropical Pacific Ocean

For most living things, arsenic is a deadly poison, but new research shows that microorganisms are breathing arsenic in a large area of the Pacific Ocean.