A relatively large near-Earth asteroid will safely fly by pur planet on September 1, 2017, according to NASA.
(3122) Florence will pass safely by Earth on September 1, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles. Image credit: University of Colorado.
Florence [full name (3122) Florence] is among the largest near-Earth asteroids that are several miles in size.
The space rock was discovered by Schelte ‘Bobby’ Bus at Siding Spring Observatory in March 1981.
According to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, the asteroid is “named in memory of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), English nurse and hospital reformer, who almost singlehandedly established trained nursing as an honorable profession for women.”
“She transformed the English field hospitals during the Crimean War and was known there for her quiet dignity, her rigorous discipline and her determination.”
“Florence Nightingale is most remembered as The Lady of the Lamp for her courage, compassion and devotion to the injured troops as she visited the hospital wards after a full day’s work.”
Contemporary measurements taken by NASA’s NEOWISE space probe and the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate the asteroid is about 2.7 miles (4.4 km) in size.
Known also as 1981 ET3, the object is expected to whiz by Earth on September 1 with its closest approach at about 4.4 million miles (7.0 million kilometers), or about 18 times the distance of Earth to the Moon.
This encounter is the closest by Florence since 1890 and the closest it will ever be until after 2500.
The asteroid will brighten to 9th magnitude in late August and early September, when it will be visible in small telescopes for several nights as it moves through the constellations Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus.
“While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller,” said Dr. Paul Chodas, manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).
“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the NASA program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began.”
This relatively close encounter provides an opportunity for astronomers to study this asteroid up close.
Radar imaging is planned at NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and at NSF’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
The resulting radar images will show the real size of Florence and also could reveal surface details as small as about 30 feet (10 m).
