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Jan. 6, 2021
On March 21, when asteroid 2001 FO32 sweeps past Earth, it’ll be moving at such a fast pace that observers using telescopes might be able to detect its motion – its drift in front of the stars – in real time.
Image above: Location of asteroid 2001 FO32 on March 20, 2021, at 3:45 am ET, as seen from southern U.S. The space rock will be too faint to see wth the unaided eye, but visible to observers using 8″ or larger diameter telescopes. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
The biggest known asteroid to pass in 2021 will sweep by on March 21. Asteroid 2001 FO32 is estimated to be about .6 miles (1 km) in diameter, not quite as long as the Golden Gate Bridge, but comparable in length. Although there’s no risk of impact, the space rock is of interest also because it’s one of the fastest space rocks known to fly by Earth. It’s traveling at about 76,980 miles per hour (123,887 km/h) or 21 miles (34.4 km) per second, relative to Earth. In contrast, Earth travels around the sun at about 18 miles (30 km) per second. Since 2001 FO32 is good-sized and occasionally passes near Earth, it’s been classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid. Its orbit is well known, and it poses no risk of impact.
On March 21, 2021, FO32’s closest approach to Earth will occur at 16:03 UTC; translate UTC to your time. At its closest, it’ll be about 5 lunar distances away, or about 1.3 million miles (2,016,351 km).
Image above: Location of asteroid 2001 FO32 on March 20, 2021, at 3:45 am ET. Observers using a computerized or “Go To” telescope can point their instrument at one of these reference stars a few minutes before, and wait for the asteroid, which will appear as a slowly moving “star.” Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 FO32 is probably between 0.767 to 1.714 kilometers (.5 miles to 1 mi) in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids.
Near Earth asteroid. Image Credits: NASA/ESA
A fascinating aspect of asteroids is that observers using backyard telescopes can spot them as apparently slow-moving “stars.” It typically takes at least 5 to 10 minutes for backyard telescope users to detect a space rock’s motion in front of its starfield. But asteroid 2001 FO32 will be sweeping past Earth at such a fast pace that, when it’s closest, observers using 8″ or larger telescopes might be able to detect its motion – its drift in front of the stars – in real time.
Image above: Location of Asteroid 2001 FO32 on March 21, 2021, at 4:45 am ET, just hours before its closest approach to Earth, so the asteroid’s motion will be easiest to detect in real time through a telescope. Illustration – set for southern U.S. – by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
We note that the space rock will be too faint to see wth the unaided eye. It’ll be visible to observers using 8″ or larger diameter telescopes. You must aim your telescope at the correct position in the sky, at the right time. The charts in this post provide details. You might also check Stellarium online or TheSkyLive for more details on observing.
One caveat for northern observers. The asteroid is placed relatively low in the southern sky. As asteroid 2001 FO32 passes by Earth, observers using telescopes might try to spot it as it glides through the southern constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius. For observers in the southern U.S., the asteroid will be low in the sky, above the southern horizon (about 20 degrees or lower), just before dawn on March 21, 2021. Observers at lower latitudes and in the southern hemisphere will be better placed to take a look through a telescope.
Image above: Location of the space rock on March 21, 2021n at 4:45 am ET, just hours before its closest approach to Earth. Have a computerized or Go To telescope? Point your optics to one of these reference stars a few minutes ahead, and wait for Asteroid 2001 FO32. This illustration shows the location of the space rock on March 21, 2021 on 4:45 am ET, just hours before its closest approach to Earth, so the asteroid’s motion will be very easy to detect in real time through the telescope. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.
After it passes by Earth in March 2021, the next encounter of this asteroid with our planet occurs in 31 years, on March 22, 2052. However, the 2021 approach will be its closest to Earth for the next 200 years for which its orbit has been calculated.
Asteroid 2001 FO32 was discovered on March 23, 2001, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR), near Socorro, New Mexico.
Image above: Another angle on the orbit of asteroid 2001 FO32. The space rock completes an orbit around the sun every 810 days (2.22 years). Image Credits: NASA/ JPL.
The space rock’s orbit carries it around the sun every 810 days (2.22 years). It comes as close to the sun as 0.30 astronomical units (1 AU = 1 Earth-sun distance). It travels as far from the sun as 3.11 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical (as opposed to being closer to circular).
Asteroid Watch: For more information about asteroids and near-Earth objects, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch and http://www.nasa.gov/asteroid . Updates about near-Earth objects are also available by following AsteroidWatch on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/asteroidwatch .
Near-Earth Object Program Office: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/
Related links:
Stellarium online: https://stellarium-web.org/
TheSkyLive: https://theskylive.com/
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: Astronomy Essentials/Eddie Irizarry/Stellarium.
Greetings, Orbiter.ch
