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Skywatchers are buzzing in anticipation of a small asteroid expected to give Earth a close shave Thursday, traveling much closer to us than the ring of large telecommunications satellites circling overhead.
NASA says Asteroid 2023 BU will fly over the southern tip of South America at 4:27 p.m. PT at an altitude of only 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) above the surface. That’s far enough that it poses no threat of impact, and even if it did, the bus-size rock would likely burn up completely in our atmosphere.
Still, the cosmic traveler is notable because it’ll be the fourth-closest pass by a near-Earth object that’s ever been observed. And perhaps more exciting, it was discovered several days before its close pass, giving the entire world the opportunity to witness the flyby.
