A distinct walnut-shaped asteroid nearly a mile wide with its own moon was expected to pass by the Earth's atmosphere on May's last weekend. It is traveling at the speed of 48,000 miles per hour. This space rock has been named as the Asteroid (66391) 1999 KW4 is actually a binary asteroid. Its main body is composed of a large asteroid where a smaller moon orbits around.
The image of Asteroid 1999 KW4 was first seen twenty years ago from archived photographs. Astronomers and skywatchers were excited as the said asteroid has made its closest approach ever to the Earth last Saturday evening. Scientists said that people were able to view the walnut-shaped celestial object until May 27, 2019, with the use of certain telescopes.
According to the report released by Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO), the 1999 KW4 "has its poles slightly squashed. It also comes with a mountain ridge that stretches around the equator, which can be seen around the entire asteroid. This is the ridge that gives the asteroid the image where it looks like it is spinning."
While the Asteroid 1999 KW4 has been classified by the Minor Planet Center under "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid", there is no need for people on Earth to be worried because it passed by the Earth at a safe distance. It is approximately 3,219, 955 miles away from the Earth. This distance may be likened to the distance of the Earth from the Moon multiplied 13 times.
In the process, the 1999 KW4 has also been the focus on this year's International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) Campaign. The goal is to check how prepared the Earth is for an incoming, potentially hazardous object from outer space like this asteroid, according to the LCO.
According to the EarthSky.org, when viewed from an 8 inch in diameter telescope, the asteroid will look like it is a slow-moving falling star. The system is expected to pass by the Earth once more by May 2036. By that time, it might be closer to the Earth, but still at a safer distance.
The said asteroid orbits the Sun in 6.18 months or 188 days at a distance of 0.2 to 1.1 astronomical units (AU)
