The orbit of the small asteroid 2021 GW4 is shown in white; Earth’s orbit is shown in blue. Image via NASA / JPL.
A recently discovered space rock will pass our planet on Monday, April 12, 2021. It will get extremely close, much closer than geostationary satellites orbiting about 22,000 miles (35,786 km) above Earth. The minor asteroid has been designated 2021 GW4. It is estimated to be about 16 feet (5 meters) in diameter. It is a small space rock and there is no risk of impact, astronomers say. NASA / JPL calculations indicate that by 2021 asteroid GW4 will pass just 12,313 miles (19,816 km) from Earth’s surface, which is about 5% of the Earth-Moon distance.
The space rock travels at 18,706 miles per hour (30,104 km / h) or 8.36 kilometers per second, relative to Earth. The closest approach of asteroid 2021 GW4 will occur at approximately 13:00 UTC (during the day off the east coast of North America; translate UTC to your time) on Monday, April 12. Amateur astrophotographers can try to capture the space rock on Sunday. night (April 11), as the asteroid will pass very close to where we see the galaxy Messier 95, in the direction of the constellation Leo the Leo from our perspective.
The space rock is not visible to the naked eye, but must be within range of telescopes with cameras.
Location of asteroid 2021 GW4 – relative to the constellation Leo the Lion – on the night of Sunday, April 11, 2021, as viewed from the US Illustration by Eddie Irizarry with Stellarium.
At around midnight on Sunday, April 11 (that is, around the midnight time between your local sunset and midnight), the van-sized asteroid will be very close to the Leo group of galaxies. However, the space rock will pass so close to our planet that astrophotographers at different latitudes will ‘see’ the space rock a little closer or further from Messier 95, an effect known as parallax, caused by the different perspectives and proximity of the object. .
Observers at latitudes close to Earth’s equator could even catch asteroid 2021 GW4 passing ahead of M95, while observers in the US should catch the space rock passing just below that galaxy.
Do you have a computer-controlled or “GoTo” telescope? Point your instrument at the galaxy Messier 95 on the night of Sunday, April 11, 2021. Around 10:00 PM to 10:45 PM Eastern Time, asteroid 2021 GW4 will be extremely close to where we see these galaxies, and the space rock would appear as a small stripe in images of a few seconds or minutes of exposure. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry featuring Stellarium.
Asteroid 2021 GW4 was discovered on April 8, 2021 using the Catalina Sky Survey’s 59 inch (1.5 meter) telescope at Mt. Lemmon, Arizona.
In short, a small asteroid labeled 2021 GW4 will pass extremely close to Earth on Monday, April 12, 2021. It passes only 12,313 miles (19,816 km) from Earth’s surface, which is about 5% of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Amateur astronomers using telescopes can see it shortly before the closest approach passes the galaxy Messier 95 on the night of Sunday, April 11.
