CAPE CANAVERAL: The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within some 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, NASA said on Thursday (Friday in Manila). The US space agency said it will allow astronomers to get a rare close look at an asteroid. The asteroid, 2001 FO32, is estimated to be about 3,000 feet in diameter and was discovered 20 years ago, NASA said. “We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the Sun very accurately,” said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies. “When sunlight hits an asteroid’s surface, minerals in the rock absorb some wavelengths while reflecting others,” NASA said.

Source: Manila Times March 12, 2021 16:29 UTC