27 Jan. () –
The network of remotely operated telescopes The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 captured the asteroid 2023 BU as it was about to fly over Earth over South America on January 27.
The telescope tracked the apparent very fast motion of the asteroid; This is why the stars look like long trails while the asteroid is a sharp, bright point of light, this network reports. it’s a statement.
At the time of imaging, the asteroid –between 3.5 and 8.5 meters in diameter– it was about 37,000 km from us, much closer than geostationary satellites, and it was still getting closer to our planet.
WOW, we did it! Here it is asteroid #2023BU around the time of its flyby, perfectly captured by our robotic facility. Our live feed was a tremendous success, thanks to all! @masi_gianluca #virtualtelescope
????more: https://t.co/7ioifRqeEP pic.twitter.com/kGw8LKhmy0—Virtual Telescope (@VirtualTelescop) January 27, 2023
The minimum distance was reached on January 27 at 00:29 UTC, 3,600 kilometers according to NASA prediction, becoming the fourth closest asteroid in history (excluding the five discovered just before its impact).
The asteroid was discovered by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, discoverer of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, from his MARGO observatory in Nauchnyi, Crimea, on Saturday, January 21.
