Near-Earth Asteroid 2024 YW8 extremely close encounter: an image – 30 Dec. 2024.
On 30 Dec. 2024, the just discovered near-Earth Asteroid 2024 YW8 is making an extremely close, but safe encounter with the Earth, bringing it as close as 28.000 km from the Earth, 7% of the average lunar distance. We spotted it one hour earlier.
Near-Earth Asteroid 2024 YW8 extremely close encounter: 30 Dec. 2024.
The image above comes from a single 30-second exposure, remotely taken with the “Elena” (PlaneWave 17″ + Paramount MEII + SBIG STL-6303E) robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project. The telescope tracked the extremely fast (about 2300”/minute) apparent motion of the asteroid, so it looks like a sharp dot of light in the center, while stars show very long, bright streaks on the background. While observing it, 2024 YW8 was just 11 degrees above the SE horizon and quickly moving south, soon becoming invisible from Italy.
At the imaging time, asteroid 2024 YW8 was at about 37.000 km from us, basically at the distance of geostationary satellites, almost at its minimum distance, but still approaching.
This 1.5-meter large asteroid will reach its minimum distance (about 28.000 km, 7% of the average lunar distance) from us on 30 Dec. 2024, at 21:26 UTC (source: Nasa/JPL). Of course, there were no risks at all for our planet.
Support The Virtual Telescope Project!
Support us! Please, donate and receive an EXCLUSIVE image of the stunning COMET C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and much more, specifically made for supporters like you!
(you can adjust the amount later)
