Asteroid to miss Earth by more than 17,000 miles - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

Asteroid to miss Earth by more than 17,000 miles

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LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- An asteroid will buzz by Earth today, missing it by more than 17,000 miles.  That may seem like a long distance, but it will actually be the closest-known flyby for an object of its size.

WDRB News spoke with Drew Foster, a member of the Louisville Astronomical Society, who says the asteroid will be too faint to see with the naked eye:  "Even with telescopes that are designed to track something very quickly, it's going to be moving very fast, probably in the neighborhood of 20-30 thousand miles per hour."

It's only 150 feet wide, and scientists are certain it won't impact Earth.

The best viewing locations with binoculars and telescopes will be in Asia, Australia, and Eastern Europe.  It'll pass through around 2:30 Eastern time.

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  • Thanks to a grant from Norton Healthcare, this story and others are available in real-time closed captioning on WDRB.
    Thanks to a grant from Norton Healthcare, this story and others are available in real-time closed captioning on WDRB.