Asteroid passing Earth on Wednesday will be closer than the Moon. Known as 2014 DX110, the approach will be much closer than usual.
According to Phys.org on Mar. 4, it will pass within 217,000 miles of the planet.
That's approximately nine-tenths of the distance between the moon and Earth.
The asteroid passing Earth is known as a New Earth Object or NEO for good reason. It is not uncommon for object to pass this close to Earth, but this time it will be extremely close. It has not been deemed as threat. The NEO is between 45 and 130 feet across.
A telescope should be able to pick up the asteroid passing Earth easily. It will approach from the south and pass by Earth to the north. According to Universe Today, you will be able to watch the event live with commentary via the Virtual Telescope Project.
The discovery of NEO 2014 DX110 was only announced recently on Mar. 2. A big "Thanks for the heads up," goes out to the Minor Planet Center. And in case you are keeping track going forward, "the asteroid is currently listed on NASA’s risk page for a 1 in 10,000,000 chance of impact with Earth on March 4th, 2046."
Source: Examiner
