An asteroid named 2024 BJ, only detected earlier this month, will come closest to Earth on Saturday, flying at a distance nearer to us than the moon. Astronomers spotted the asteroid on Jan. 17 and confirmed that it will safely pass by Earth without causing any issues. The asteroid is expected to pass near the moon before 9 a.m. EST and then fly past Earth at a speed of 14,200 mph (22,850 km/h) approximately three and a half hours later. It will reach its closest point to Earth at 12:30 p.m. EST, according to NASA. You can observe the plane-size asteroid passing just 220,000 miles (354,000 kilometers) from Earth through the Virtual Telescope Project livestream starting at 12:15 p.m. EST. It will appear as a white speck moving swiftly among the background stars in the live stream.
2024 BJ is a near-Earth asteroid having an egg-shaped orbit, which crosses Earth’s orbit to reach its closest point to the sun before moving outward toward the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Apollo type asteroid, of which there are currently more than 1,600 known, is the majority of Earth-crossing and potentially hazardous asteroids. Nevertheless, 2024 BJ is not large enough to be considered hazardous. Moreover, Earth seems to be safe from cataclysmic, “planet-killer” asteroids measuring more than 0.6 miles (1 km) for the next 1,000 years. In case an unexpected planet-killer heads our way, scientists have plans in place to deal with such a disaster, such as trying to deflect the space rock with rockets or using nuclear weapons detonated in space. Hopefully, such a mission will not be necessary.
