Sky Stream Lights Up Asteroid Day Party Live – Space & Astronomy

Telescopes ready for flightAsteroids 2024 MKten times Smaller than asteroid 2011 UL21 who visited earth on june 27, But just as bright. One An unmissable offer With which the celebrations officially beginAsteroid Daythe International Day for Near-Earth AsteroidsWhich is celebrated every year on June 30th.

Asteroid 2024 MK is a very special guest at the party, as its close pass reminds us how It is important to keep an eye on these potentially dangerous items Which orbits near our planet. for him DiscoveryActually it is It happened on June 16th only. Thanks network Atlas TelescopesIt is an alert system developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA, and consists of four telescopes (two in Hawaii, one in Chile and one in South Africa). They automatically scan the sky several times each night for moving objectsThe existence of the 2024 MK was officially announced on June 19, just days before its flight.

In fact, the asteroid reached its lowest distance from Earth on Saturday, June 29 at 3.46 pm Italian time, as it passed within 290,000 kilometers of our planet (about 75% of the distance between Earth and the Moon). 120 to 260 meters in diameter, 2024 MK”It will become one of the brightest objects of its kind seen in modern history.“, confirms astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, scientific director of the Virtual Telescope project and coordinator of Asteroid Day in Italy. At the beginning of the evening, the asteroid lights up in the Pegasus constellation, moving towards the constellation Andromeda. To best appreciate this, the Virtual Telescope organizes a live broadcast on the ANSA science channel .

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