Asteroid Florence will pass close to Earth on Sept. 1 at a safe distance of 4.4 million miles. It will be visible to enthusiasts in small telescopes and won’t get that close again until about the year 2500. It is the largest asteroid to pass this close since NASA’s program began.
Now that you’ve recovered from the awe of this summer’s total solar eclipse, get ready for another big celestial event. On Sept. 1, a massive asteroid named Florence will pass close to Earth, at a safe distance of about 4.4 million miles (7 million km). Asteroid 3122 Florence will appear brighter than many planets and stars in the night sky, making it visible to enthusiasts in small telescopes, as it passes through the constellations Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Delphinus.
See you in the year 2500:
If you miss Florence, it will pass close to Earth again on its orbit through our solar system, but it won’t get that close again until about the year 2500.
“Florence is the largest asteroid to have passed our planet this close since NASA’s program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began,” said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
Asteroid Florence was discovered by BobBus in 1981 at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. It was named in honor of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
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