Gigantic asteroid, previously foretold to collide with Earth in six decades, will fly safely by our planet on Thursday (Sept. 18). Catch its spectacular journey live.
Asteroid 2025 FA22, initially predicted to have a slim chance of hitting Earth in 2089, has been making headlines recently. This space rock, discovered earlier this year by the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope in Hawaii, is between 427 and 951 feet (130 and 290 meters) across, making it large enough to potentially wipe out a major city if it were to collide with Earth.
The asteroid will reach its minimum distance to Earth on Thursday (Sept. 18), coming within 520,000 miles (835,000 kilometers) of our planet. While this distance is significant, the asteroid will not get very close to Earth in 2089, with NASA's latest calculations suggesting it will only come within 3.7 million miles (6 million km) of Earth.
The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) is using the asteroid's flyby as an opportunity to practice emergency protocols through the 2025 FA22 IAWN Campaign. This practice scenario, which pretends that the asteroid will still impact us in 2089, is important as it influences how an asteroid will react to any attempt to deflect it off of a collision course with Earth.
Researchers will observe the asteroid from observatories worldwide, including NASA's Goldstone radar telescope in Barstow, California. The Goldstone radar telescope can reveal more about the asteroid's true size and shape, providing crucial data for future deflection plans.
The 2025 FA22 IAWN Campaign involves measuring as many of the asteroid's characteristics as accurately as possible, in preparation for a hypothetical mission to deflect the space rock in the future. NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is responsible for the "2025 FA22 IAWN Campaign."
The asteroid's location in the night sky can be found on TheSkyLive.com, and it could be visible with a decent backyard telescope or stargazing binoculars during its close approach. While the chance of a collision in 2089 is now considered negligible, the 2025 FA22 IAWN Campaign serves as a reminder of the importance of monitoring near-Earth objects and developing strategies for potential future threats.
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