[meteorite-list] Small Asteroid to Pass Close by Earth on September 7 (2014 RC)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 16:14:09 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201409032314.s83NE983026024_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news184.html

Small Asteroid to Pass Close by Earth on September 7 (2014 RC)

NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office
September 3, 2014

[Graphic]
This graphic depicts the passage of asteroid 2014 RC past Earth on
September 7, 2014. At time of closest approach, the space rock will be
about one-tenth the distance from Earth to the moon. Times indicated on
the graphic are Universal Time. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

A small asteroid, designated 2014 RC, will safely pass very close to the
Earth on Sunday, 7 September 2014. This small asteroid was initially
discovered on the night of 31 August by the Catalina Sky Survey near
Tucson AZ, and independently detected the next night by the Pan-STARRS 1
telescope, located on the summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii. Both
reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA.
Additional follow-up observations by the Catalina Sky Survey and the
University of Hawaii 88-inch on Mauna Kea confirmed the orbit of 2014
RC. From its brightness, astronomers estimate that the asteroid is about
20 meters (60 feet) in size.

Based on current calculations, the best estimate for closest approach
will be on 7 September, 2014, at about 18:15 UTC (2:15 PM EDT) at
approximately 1/10th the distance from the Earth to the Moon, or at
about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles). Its apparent magnitude at
closest approach will be about 11.5, rendering it unobservable to the
unaided eye. However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might
glimpse the fast moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.

The asteroid will pass below the Earth and the geosynchronous ring of
communications and weather satellites orbiting 35,890 km (22,300 miles)
above our planet's surface. While this celestial object does not appear
to pose any threat to the Earth or satellites, its close approach
creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more
about asteroids.

While 2014 RC will not impact the Earth, its orbit will bring it back to
the Earth's neighborhood in the future. It's future motion will be
closely monitored but no future threatening Earth encounters have been
identified.

For a heliocentric view of the orbit of asteroid 2014 RC with respect to
the Earth and other plan ets, please see:

http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2014+RC&orb=1
Received on Wed 03 Sep 2014 07:14:09 PM PDT