NASA asteroid tracker: A 1.8 MILE wide asteroid will skim Earth this week at 48,100MPH

The asteroid, dubbed by NASA Asteroid 1999 KW4, is en route for a so-called “Earth Close Approach”. NASA expects the monstrous object to come roaring past Earth shortly after midnight on Sunday, May 26. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Asteroid KW will approach the Earth around 12.05am BST (11.05pm UTC). When this happens, the asteroid and its companion moon will break speeds of 21.51km per second or 48,116mph.

Discovered on May 20, 1999, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Researcher (LINEAR) instrument, KW4 is one of the biggest space rocks orbiting the Earth.

NASA’s JPL estimates the space rock measures somewhere in the range of 0.8 miles to 1.86 miles (1.3 to 3km) in diameter.

Due to its sheer size and speed, the asteroid will be visible over Earth during the flyby.

And according to NASA ambassador Eddie Irizarry of the Astronomical Society of the Caribbean, the flyby presents the perfect opportunity for amateur astronomers to test their skills.

Mr Irizarry told EarthSky: “1999 KW4 is travelling at 48,123 miles per hour, relative to Earth.

READ MORE: Find out how often asteroids strike the Earth

“Its fast speed, combined with the size of the asteroid, will allow amateur astronomers to observe it as it moves in front of the stars.

“The space rock will not be visible to the naked eye alone but sky enthusiasts equipped with eight-inch in diameter and bigger telescopes might be able to see the asteroid, which might reach a visual magnitude of around 12 during closest approach.”

But just how close is the 1.8-mile-wide asteroid expected to come this weekend?

Based on NASA’s orbital trajectory calculations, the space rock will approach the Earth from a distance of 0.03464 astronomical units (au).

READ MORE: NASA reveals daring asteroid redirection mission

Just one astronomical unit measures around 93 million miles (149.6 million km), which is the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

This means Asteroid KW4 will cut this distance down to just 3.2 million miles (5.18 million km) on its flyby.

Mr Irizarry said: “1999 KW4 was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research astronomical survey in Socorro, New Mexico, in 1999.

“It has been classified a Near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous object by the Minor Planet Centre.

READ MORE: Watch major asteroid DESTROY Earth in fiery crash simulation

“However, the orbit of this huge space rock is well understood and known to pose no risk to Earth.

During the closest of its approaches to Earth, its orbit brings it no closer than five Earth-Moon distances.”

The astronomer said the next, closer encounter with Earth falls on May 25, 2036.

But before that happens, the asteroid will swing by Earth in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2031, 2032, 2033 and 2034.

source: express.co.uk