I know they say it won’t hit, and I know that orbital mechanics make such things, well, mechanically predictable.
Still, pardon me if I flinch at that bullet whizzing by my ear.
The asteroid is roughly estimated to be a little more than 1,000 feet (320 meters) wide. The rock, catalogued as 2004 MN4, was discovered last June. It was seen again in December, and for a time scientists said it had the highest odds of hitting Earth ever given to a space rock. Subsequent observations refined the future path and eliminated those odds for the 2029 flyby. It won’t hit the Moon, either.
[…] On April 13, 2029, it will be about 22,600 miles (36,350 kilometers) from Earth’s center. That is just below the altitude of geosynchronous satellites, which hover in fixed perches above the planet to communicate with and collect data on half the globe at all times.
Of the ten known closest asteroid flybys, 2004 MN4 is by far the largest object, said Steve Chesley of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Only two have come closer, and they were only tens of yards (meters) wide.
It will be the only asteroid ever clearly visible to the naked eye:
The asteroid 2004 MN4 is expected to shine like a fast-moving star at magnitude 3.3, Chesley said. That would be easily visible under dark skies without the help of binoculars or telescopes.
By comparison, Ceres, the largest “regular” asteroid is magnitude 7.6, less than 1/50th MN4’s.
We do have a quarter century or so until it happens, though, so don’t bother to mark your calendars — I suspect it will be in the news around that time.
(via the Flea)