An asteroid will whiz harmlessly past Earth this weekend. With the right equipment and timing, you just might spot it.
Called 2024 MK, the space rock will make its closest approach to Earth Saturday morning, passing by at about three-quarters the distance from Earth to the moon. It was first spotted two weeks ago by a South African observatory and is about 393 feet to 853 feet wide.
Smaller objects shoot past Earth all the time, according to asteroid expert Davide Farnocchia with NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. Asteroids the size of this latest one fly by about every 25 years or so.
“We’re going to see a few of those during our lifetimes, but it’s not something that happens every other day,” he said.
In this artistic rendering, two asteroids fly past Earth. An asteroid that will whiz harmlessly past Earth is called 2024 MK and will make its closest approach to Earth at 9:46 AM EST Saturday, passing by at about three-quarters the distance from Earth to the moon.
A 7,579-foot asteroid flew safely past Earth on Thursday, but it was farther away and was only visible to professional telescopes.
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