Box Truck-Sized Asteroid To Have A Very Close Encounter With Earth Tomorrow, NASA Says: Know Everything

Asteroid 2023 BU will zoom over the southern tip of South America at about 7:27 pm EST on Thursday, January 26 (5:57 am IST on Friday, January 27), well within the orbit of geosynchronous satellites.

The asteroid, called 2023 BU, is predicted to pass by Earth at a distance of 3,600 kilometres above the planet's surface, which could be one of the closest approaches by a near-Earth object ever recorded, according to NASA. 

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A box truck-sized asteroid is predicted to make a very close encounter with Earth on Friday, January 27, 2023. The asteroid, called 2023 BU, is predicted to pass by Earth at a distance of 3,600 kilometres above the planet's surface, which could be one of the closest approaches by a near-Earth object ever recorded, according to NASA. 

When will asteroid 2023 BU make a close encounter with Earth?

Asteroid 2023 BU will zoom over the southern tip of South America at about 7:27 pm EST on Thursday, January 26 (5:57 am IST on Friday, January 27), well within the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. 

Will the asteroid hit Earth?

However, the asteroid will not hit Earth. Even if there was a possibility of the asteroid hitting Earth, it would turn into a fireball and largely disintegrate harmlessly in the atmosphere. Some of the bigger debris will potentially fall as small meteorites. The asteroid is estimated to be 3.5 to 8.5 metres across, according to NASA. 

Who discovered the asteroid?

Amateur astronaut Gennadiy Borisov had discovered the Asteroid 2023 BU, from his MARGO observatory in Nauchnye, Crimea, on January 21. Borisov had also discovered the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. He reported additional observations to the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the internationally recognised clearinghouse for the position measurements of small celestial bodies. Then, the data was automatically posted to the Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page. The MPC announced the discovery after sufficient observations were collected, and within three days, a number of observatories around the world had made dozens of observations. This helped astronomers better redefine 2023 BU's orbit. 

NASA's Scout impact hazard assessment system analysed the data from the MPC's confirmation page and quickly predicted the near miss of the asteroid. The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Scout impact hazard assessment system. 

In a statement released by NASA, Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at JPL, said NASA's Scout quickly ruled out 2023 BU as an impactor, but despite the very few observations, it was nonetheless able to predict that the asteroid would make an extraordinarily close approach with Earth. He added that this is one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded. 

One can track the asteroid's trajectory using NASA's 'Eyes on Asteroids'. 

What will happen to the asteroid’s orbit after its encounter with Earth?

Any asteroid that comes in proximity to Earth will experience a change in trajectory due to the planet's gravity. Asteroid 2023 BU will come so close to Earth that its path around the Sun is expected to be significantly altered. The asteroid's orbit around Earth was roughly circular before encountering Earth, taking 359 days to complete its orbit around the Sun. 

After the asteroid's encounter on January 27, its orbit will be more elongated, as a result of which the orbit will move out to about halfway between Earth's and Mars' orbits at its farthest point from the Sun. Then, the asteroid will complete one orbit every 425 days.