Giant asteroid to pass near earth: Date, time, how to view

A 3-mile big asteroid Florence will pass safely by earth on September 1, at a distance of about of 4.4 million miles, NASA has said.

What is florence asteroid?

Asteroid Florence is among the largest near-Earth asteroids that are several miles is size. Measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and NEOWISE mission indicate it is about 4.4 kilometres in size.

How to view this asteroid?

According to NASA, it will even be visible to small telescopes in late August and early September, when it brightens to the ninth magnitude. NASA scientists will use ground-based radar to observe its features up close, using radar imaging NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and at the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

It hasn't come this close since 1890

The asteroid will make a ‘relatively close encounter' with Earth on September 1. The asteroid, named for Florence Nightingale, was first spotted in 1981, and the flyby in September will be the closest it's come to Earth since 1890. And, it won't come this close again until 2,500.

What will happen when its close to the earth?

During this time, it will pass through the constellations Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus. NASA says asteroid Florence will safely fly past Earth at a distance of about 4.4 million miles (7 million kilometers).

Photo courtesy: NASA

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