September 03, 2014
A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to Earth on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. At the time of closest approach, based on current calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand. From its reflected brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about 60 feet (20 meters) in size.
Asteroid 2014 RC was initially discovered on the night of August 31 by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, and independently detected the next night by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope, located on the summit of Haleakal? on Maui, Hawaii. Both reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional follow-up observations by the Catalina Sky Survey and the University of Hawaii 88-inch (2.2-meter) telescope on Mauna Kea confirmed the orbit of 2014 RC.
At the time of closest approach, 2014 RC will be approximately one-tenth the distance from the center of Earth to the moon, or about 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers). The asteroid's apparent magnitude at that time will be about 11.5, rendering it unobservable to the unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might glimpse the fast-moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.
The asteroid will pass below Earth and the geosynchronous ring of communications and weather satellites orbiting about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above our planet's surface. While this celestial object does not appear to pose any threat to Earth or satellites, its close approach creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids.
While 2014 RC will not impact Earth, its orbit will bring it back to our planet's neighborhood in the future. The asteroid's future motion will be closely monitored, but no future threatening Earth encounters have been identified.
For a heliocentric view of the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC with respect to Earth and other planets, visit:
http://ift.tt/YenPb9
DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-9011 agle@jpl.nasa.gov Dwayne Brown NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov 2014-295
Entities 0 Name: Earth Count: 7 1 Name: Hawaii Count: 2 2 Name: UTC Count: 1 3 Name: Catalina Count: 1 4 Name: Arizona Count: 1 5 Name: Calif. Count: 1 6 Name: Dwayne Brown NASA Headquarters Count: 1 7 Name: moon Count: 1 8 Name: Washington Count: 1 9 Name: Tucson Count: 1 10 Name: Pasadena Count: 1 11 Name: Massachusetts Count: 1 12 Name: DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory Count: 1 13 Name: Cambridge Count: 1 14 Name: Maui Count: 1 15 Name: New Zealand Count: 1 16 Name: Haleakal Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1w7zm7c Title: NASA Invites Public to Submit Messages for Asteroid Mission Time Capsule Description: image-36] NASA is inviting the worldwide public to submit short messages and images on social media that could be placed in a time capsule aboard a spacecraft launching to an asteroid in 2016. Called the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), the spacecraft will rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu in 2019, collect a sample and return the cache in a capsule to Earth in 2023 for detailed study.
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