Asteroid flyby (2) ... (52768) 1998 OR2

[ilan]

A large asteroid is due to pass on April 29
Eddie Irizarry in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | SPACE | April 23, 2020

You need a telescope to see it, but astronomers have been observing it already. Charts, tips, recent images, how to watch online here.

​

Radar image of asteroid 1998 OR2, acquired April 18, 2020 by astronomers at Arecibo Observatory. The radar data confirm that 1998 OR2 is at least 2 km in diameter [a little over a mile wide]. It is probably about 2 1/2 times that long. It rotates once every 4.1 hours. Image via Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

A big – very big – asteroid will pass relatively close to Earth on April 29, 2020. Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2 will pass at a safe distance, at some 4 million miles (6 million km), or about 16 times the Earth-moon distance. It’ll be the biggest asteroid to fly by Earth this year (that we know about so far); according to current estimates, it’s probably a bit over a mile wide (2 km) and maybe twice that long. Closest approach will be April 29 around 5:56 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (09:56 UTC; translate UTC to your time). Professional observatories have been pointing their telescopes at the huge space rock already. Amateur astronomers with smaller telescopes will also have an opportunity to see it as a slow-moving “star.”
__________________________________

If you do not have a telescope, the Virtual Telescope Project will have a live stream of the asteroid's passing. Check the site for times and adjust them for your location. - ilan

https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2020/03/06/potentially-hazardous-asteroid-52768-1998-or2-close-encounter-online-observations-28-apr-2020/