An asteroid discovered this month by a University of Hawaii-operated telescope will narrowly miss the Earth tonight.
On June 19, UH’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert Survey telescope — located in Sutherland, South Africa — discovered an asteroid about 575 feet across.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, the asteroid will be at its closest point to Earth and within the orbit of the moon.
Astronomers say the asteroid, designated Asteroid 2024 MK, poses no threat.
“2024 MK is a routine discovery for ATLAS, and while this object will not collide with Earth and poses no immediate danger, it shows that we can detect these objects prior to their close approach or collision with the Earth,” said Larry Denneau, UH Institute for Astronomy astronomer and ATLAS co-principal investigator, in a statement.
The asteroid likely will be too faint to detect with the naked eye, but should be easily detectable with binoculars or a small telescope. The best time for viewing the object will be around 10 p.m. tonight, when it will be visible in the southern sky, southeast of the constellation Scorpius.