The small asteroid 2021 The orbital trajectory of GW4 is represented in white; The Earth’s orbit is represented in blue. Image via NASA / JPL.
A recently detected space rock will pass through our planet on Monday, April 12, 2021. It will approach much, much closer than geostationary satellites orbiting about 35,786 km above Earth. The small asteroid has been designated GW4 2021. It is estimated to be about 5 meters in diameter. It is a small space rock and there is no risk of impact, according to astronomers. NASA / JPL calculations indicate that asteroid 2021 GW4 will pass only 19,316 miles from Earth’s surface, which is about 5% of the Earth-Moon distance.
Space rock travels at 30,104 km / h at 18,706 miles per hour or 8.36 kilometers per second, relative to Earth. The closest approximation to asteroid 2021 GW4 will occur at 13:00 UTC (during the day on the east coast of North America; translate UTC at your time) on Monday 12 April. Amateur astrophotographers could try to capture space rock on Sunday. at 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 Lion, as seen from our perspective.
The space rock will not be visible to the naked eye, but should be within reach of telescopes with cameras.
Location of the asteroid 2021 GW4 – with respect to the constellation Leo the Lion – on the night of Sunday, April 11, 2021, as seen in the American illustration by Eddie Irizarry with Stellarium.
By mid-evening on Sunday, April 11 (i.e., about halfway through the local sunset until midnight), the van-sized asteroid will be located very close to the Leo galaxy cluster. However, the space rock will pass so close to our planet that astrophotographers at different latitudes will “see” the space rock slightly closer or farther from Messier 95, an effect known as parallax, caused by the different perspectives and proximity of the object.
In fact, observers at latitudes close to Earth’s equator could capture the 2021 GW4 asteroid passing in front of M95, while the Americans would have to capture the space rock passing just below it. galaxy.
Do you have a computerized telescope or “GoTo”? Aim your instrument at the galaxy Messier 95 on the night of Sunday, April 11, 2021. Around 22:00 to 22:45, Eastern time, the asteroid 2021 GW4 will be located very close to where we see these galaxies and space rock should appear as a small streak in images of a few seconds or minutes of exposure. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry with Stellarium.
Asteroid 2021 GW4 was discovered on April 8, 2021 using the 59-inch (1.5 meter) telescope from the Catalina Sky Survey on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona.
Summary: A small asteroid designated 2021 GW4 will pass very close to Earth on Monday, April 12, 2021. It will pass only 19,816 km from Earth’s surface, which is approximately 5% of the Earth-Moon distance. Amateur astronomers using telescopes can see it shortly before it gets closer to the Messier 95 galaxy on the night of Sunday, April 11th.
