Asteroid Captured in Remarkable Video While Making Extremely Close Approach to Earth; Is It a Threat?

An asteroid made a very close approach to Earth, and the moment was captured in a remarkable video.

Asteroid Flyby 2,200 Miles Above Earth Surface

Space rock 2023 BU made an "extremely close" approach to the Earth Thursday. It zoomed over the southern tip of South America and was only 2,200 miles above the Earth's surface.

The flyby was considered one of the closest approaches of a near-Earth object ever recorded. It was the fourth-nearest of over 35,000 flybys past and future Earth close approaches between 1900 to 2200, Newsweek reported.

Amateur astronomer Gianluca Masi operated the Virtual Telescope near Rome, Italy. Masi told Newsweek the extraordinary footage captured the "extremely close and fast asteroid."

Masi used the Elena robotic telescope unit for the footage. Elena is designed to track the very fast motion of asteroids flying past Earth. The images used in the time-lapse video were captured when 2023 BU was 13,600 miles above the planet's surface.

It passed within the orbits of geostationary satellites, which circle the Earth above the equator at an altitude of around 22,000 miles.

According to some definitions, the asteroid may have even penetrated the "exosphere" of Earth, which may extend up to 120,000 miles above the surface of the planet. The portion of the Earth's atmosphere that extends farthest into space and eventually blends in with the surrounding void of space.

However, because the gases in this region have such a low density, many scientists do not consider them a legitimate component of the atmosphere.

Is Asteroid 2023 BU a Threat?

The space rock is not big enough to pose a threat. It only measures 11.5 to 28 feet wide. It is about the same size as the London Bus.

If it collides with the planet, 2023 BU will likely burn up in the atmosphere, and only small fragments will fall to the ground as meteorites, according to Space.com.

In Masi's videos and images, the asteroid appears as a small, bright dot in the center of the frame. The gravitational kick that the asteroid received during its flyby is expected to change its orbit around the Sun.

It previously followed a circular orbit, completing one lap around the Sun in 359 days. Going forward, it will travel through the inner solar system on an elliptical path, adding 66 days more to its previous orbital period.

Other Asteroid Flybys in January 2022

NASA warned about five asteroids that came close to the planet a few weeks ago - 2022 YS5, 2014 LJ, 2022 YH3, 2023 AH, and 2012 BV13.

Among the five, the 2012 BV13 asteroid was the biggest, measuring 420 feet. It is the size of a big building and was near twice the size of 2023 YH3.

Initially, NASA issued an alert about the 2012 BV13 due to its monstrous size. Its size was between 327 feet and 721 feet, making it nearly as big as a football field.

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